The prospect of a government job through the sports quota is what drives Bhiwani boys to the boxing arena – and thence to Olympic glory
At the break of dawn, hundreds of young boys and girls gather at Bhim stadium in the dusty Haryana township of Bhiwani, 150 km west of New Delhi. Until a few days ago, Vijender, Akhil and Jitender, the three boxers who caught the attention of the nation at Beijing Olympics, were among the same lot practising hard at the sporting arena of their nondescript town.
Sports come naturally to the children of Bhiwani. Most of the boys are happy putting on the boxing gloves. Reason: Bhiwani boxers have performed consistently well at various national and international events, ensuring a government job for themselves through the sports quota. Most of them become ticket examiners with the railways while some land up in Haryana police.
The security of a government job drives hundreds of boys to the boxing ring. Most of the influx comes from villages adjoining Bhiwani. The rural kids, mostly sons of farmers or low paid government employees, are tailormade for the tough sport.
Kaluwas, a small village barely a few kilometers north of Bhiwani, became the centre of boxing activity. Bhiwani’s many boxing clubs were flooded with boys from Kaluwas. It is no surprise that India’s first ever boxing medal in Olympics was provided by a lad from Kaluwas, which has come to be known as India’s mini-Cuba.
Vijender Kumar, who has become a national sporting icon after winning the Olympic bronze medal, is the son of a Haryana Roadways driver from Kaluwas; though it is ironic that his dream to get a gold medal was dashed by a Cuban opponent.
Kaluwas boasts of several Vijenders: in fact, every house has a boxer. “Most of the children in my club come from Kaluwas. There are 30 to 40 of them from the village,” said coach Jagdish Singh of Bhiwani Boxing Club, from where four boxers represented India at Beijing.
Much before the great Olympic dream was realised, the people of Kaluwas had realised that boxing is the future for their kids. The village panchayat even offered a huge piece of land to Haryana state government to set up a boxing academy. “They told the government, take the land free of cost but give good facilities to our boys who have potential to beat the best in the world,” said Jagdish.
Even as the government, as usual, is still to respond, Vijender did not wait and got India a medal in boxing, a feat never achieved by any Indian boxer before.
If Vijender won the medal, two other Bhiwani boys – Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar – came close to winning. Akhil Kumar’s bout against Russian Sergey Vodapoyanov stunned the nation. Indians had never realised that a boxer from the country would stand upto a world champion and beat him.
Suddenly, the country realised that a medal in the ring is not a distant dream. Bhiwani had been living that dream for years. Despite crumbling sports infrastructure and no support from the administration, its boxers have been practising hard. “Akhil was a small boy when he came to me. The only thing he had at that time was dedication and a strong desire to do something big,” said Jagdish, the most respected of boxing coaches in Bhiwani.
Jagdish, a coach with Sports Authority of India, also runs Bhiwani Boxing Club. He does not charge any fees from boys who join him. Without any financial support, the club is in shambles. It has just one ring and boys drink water from a hand pump after hard practice sessions.
“There is no assistance from anywhere. We are managing ourselves. There are no facilities in Bhiwani. There is not even a doctor at the sports stadium where hundreds train hard,” said Kamal Singh, president of Bhiwani Boxing Association. The kids don’t even get adequate nutrition, he said.
Despite the hardship, there is a sense of optimism in the boys. They hope that Vijender’s success will change the face of the game. Even if it doesn’t, young boys have set eyes on winning gold at the next Olympics.
“Indian boxers practise very hard. In fact, we practise more than any other boxer in the world,” said Suneel Kumar, an upcoming boxer who has already toured 18 countries. Suneel is a bright prospect for 2012 Olympics, said his coach Jagdish.
There is no need for our boxers to go abroad and train, said Suneel. “I have gone out several times, they do not show us their real practice modules. It is time India devise its own method and train according to them rather than emulate what others are doing,” said Balwinder, brother of Vijender.
Coach Jagdish feels that government should improve conditions in Bhiwani and promises a gold at the next Olympics as there is no dearth of talent. The goal now is only an Olympic gold, not any other medal at any other competition, he said.
Bhiwani has come a long way on its own. It now wants a little help to go a long way.