Vijender Singh’s climb towards boxing’s professional circuit has been perfect so far. Unbeaten in all his matches, the Olympic bronze medallist is carrying the dreams of millions of Indian sports fans.
What's interesting though is that it’s not just the pro realm where the tri-colour is enhancing its visibility. The country’s prowess in amateur boxing is also at its strongest, with four boxers ranked in the top five across various weight categories.
But it was not long ago that the sport barely managed to garner any kind of national attention. Amateur boxers had no coaches, access to international tournaments or infrastructure, leave alone the encouragement to think about turning professional. And nowhere is that state highlighted better than in the story of Dennis Swamy.
Between 1961 to 1971, the Hyderabad-based pugilist was deemed the era’s most successful boxer. Eight national titles saw him reach the pinnacle of India’s boxing ecosytem. However, his Olympic dream was cut short thanks to a clerical mistake by Indian boxing administrators.
He said, “That particular incident was the saddest moment of my life. I had been training for a year for the Tokyo Olympics, they even mentioned my name in the list. But thanks to their dirty tactics I was removed.”
Prior to the 1964 Olympics, Swamy had won back-to-back national titles, highlighting his claim for a berth. But his dream never came to fruition.
Late Sam Manekshaw used to ask me to prolong my matches: Swamy
Swamy, now 72, was known as the ‘one-round’ wonder. The tag came from his tendency to knock his opponent out within the first round itself. He said, “I clearly remember whenever Field Marshal Manekshaw used to come down to a match of mine. Before the game he used meet up with me and ask me to prolong the match so that I can watch longer.”
Nick-named ‘King of the Ring’, Swamy’s tryst with boxing began at just 14 years of age. He won the silver medal at the Ahmednagar Boxing Championship barely after entering his teens. A stint with the South Boys Batallion saw him represent them in every possible sport.
He said, “My first love was actually football. I used to box and play football at the same time. But due to my sister’s wedding I failed to attend the National Championship. It was around this time I decided to take up boxing completely.
“I spoke to the coach to enrol me into the boxing course. He told me I must beat their boxer to stand a chance. So I knocked him out within the first round.”
After participating in several state and national events, Swamy won his first major title in 1961. An emphatic national championship victory caught the eye of several people within the boxing fraternity. Immediately after his triumph, he was named in the Asian Games squad for Jakarta.
The Olympic snub
Swamy said, “When I was about to respond to the Asian Games call, I had a talk with my coach. He said I was too young to participate in the National Championship. So I should rest now and wait for the Olympics in 1964 and train for it.” Little did Swamy know what was coming.
After initially being named at the top of the 1964 selection list, his name was cancelled days prior to the event. He said, “I had no injury problems, I trained so hard for that day. During those days, our coaches weren’t professionals, we used to learn the sport together. It was the passion of the boxers that saw us reach that level. But to be removed due to a mistake by the administrators...I was never selected again for some reason.”
He would go on to win four more national championships to prove his supremacy, despite his exclusion.
At times, Swamy even laments taking up boxing. He added, “I love boxing to the core, don’t get me wrong. But it does cross every athlete’s mind whether they should have taken up cricket or not. What’s there not to like? It’s not a physically demanding sport and will be better for you money-wise. Right now I don’t have a proper house to live in, my pension is negligible.”
In 1968, his achievements were finally recognised by the Sports Ministry, who awarded him with the Arjuna award. It was a truly momentous occasion for an ignored hero, whose efforts for international representation were consistently disregarded.
Swamy said, “How does the award matter now? I don’t have funds to pass on my knowledge to younger kids. If I can open one academy, we will have a line of kids attempting to represent India. Boxing will always be plagued with adiministrative problems.”
He remains optimistic about the future though, saying, “It is a lot better now. Vijender is doing well and there is a lot of competition, but the administration is not behind that. It’s the talent of the boxers. Think about it, it’se been 50-odd years, and I’m yet to receive my prize-money. What does that say?”
