Bhiwani Junction

‘Havana. Harlem. Haryana. There is a thread that runs through these centres of excellence in boxing… They are places where young boys can choose a career in crime if they want to, and they often do. Or, turn to boxing.’ Vijender Singh’s one bronze medal in Beijing has changed the fortunes of an entire sport in India. At the very  least, it dramatically transformed one town: Bhiwani. Or did Bhiwani transform Indian boxing? The nation now knows Bhiwani as being synonymous with the handsome Olympian heartthrob and then some. Boxing is the new sexy, Vijender is the face of it, and Bhiwani is its home. But inspiring as that tale is and considerable though India’s successes in the sport have been since his bronze, the story – as is true of everything in India – is more complex. The sport has a long and meandering history, a Raj connection and a nationalist one, and decades of Indian rule and misrule. There have been many boxing centres in the country, beginning with Calcutta and Mumbai. The state of Manipur has had a long, conflicted history with the sport, as has the Indian Army. Blood, sweat, tears and a healthy dose of conspiracy: the story of Indian boxing is dramatic, simultaneously dispiriting and inspiring.