They are fierce, strong and determined to make India proud
A powerful contact sport, boxing requires strength, tactics, power, and agility. In India other than cricket, the history of boxing is also quite old. However, boxing came into limelight in the 20th century as a popular sport in the North and the North-Eastern parts of India. Soon many boxers emerged from these parts of the country and over time the nation saw the arrival of many professional boxers from across the length and breadth of India. These emerging boxing stars have gone on to the international stage and found success, making boxing a rising sports in India.
As an activity it helps the body in increasing physical and mental strength, self-confidence as one knows well to defend self and muscle power. So here is a list of the boxing champions of India.
Dingko Singh From a small village in Manipur, Dingko’s potential as a born boxer won him the Sub Junior National Boxing Championship at the age of 10. After that, there was no looking back and he went on to win the King’s Cup 1997 in Bangkok, a gold medal in the 1998 Asian Games, and the same year was honoured with the Arjuna Award by the government of India. In 2013 he was awarded the Padma Shri for achievements in the sport.
Laishram Sarita Devi Four-time Asian Champion and former world champion Sarita Devi is an inspiration to women boxers. An Arjuna Awardee, Devi spent 15 years in the ring inspiring many. Having started her career in the ring in 2000, she has gone on to break several records, besides earning numerous accolades. In 2014, Devi also won the silver medal at Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Vijender Singh The first Indian boxer to have won a medal at the Olympics, Singh is currently the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight champion. He won bronze medals at the 2006 Asian Games, at 2008 Beijing Olympics, in 2009 World Championships and at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Singh also won silver medals at the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games. He is the recipient of Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
Mary Kom Six-time World Champion, Kom is the first and only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the Summer Olympics in 2012 and even won a bronze medal. She is also the first Indian boxer to have won gold in Asian Games in 2014 in South Korea and also the first Indian woman boxer to claim gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Other boxing stars of India are Hawa Singh, Devendro Singh, Akhil Kumar, and Vikas Krishnan Yadav among others.
