International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanities ISSN 2277 – 9809 (online) ISSN 2348 - 9359 (Print) An Internationally Indexed Peer Reviewed & Refereed Journal Shri Param Hans Education & Research Foundation Trust www.IRJMSH.com www.SPHERT.org Published by iSaRa Solutions IRJMSH Volume 5 Issue 2 [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 – 9809 Bhiwani as Powerhouse on Indian Boxing *Anuj Kumar ** Devender Kumar *Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, University of Delhi. **Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, University of Delhi As we know sports is a wider term and it plays an important role in individual’s life.Games and sports not only endow us with the physical strength to fight the grim battle of life, but also fill our life with thrills and joy. They improve our digestion and keep the body fit, and give long life. Through games and sports we can make our body more beautiful and free from all kind of disease. Games keep our body alert, active, youthful and energetic. Games increase the circulation of blood, boost metabolism, burn calories and improve the respiration and digestive system. A healthy person can work hard cheerfully for a long period of time, and can face dangers boldly. Games develop in the players the spirit of self-reliance, self-confidence, justice, and fair play. They enable him to follow other virtues like discipline, honesty, integrity, loyalty and patriotism. The competitive sport requires lot of hard work, sincerity and scientific training. Depending on the nature of the sports, they are put into different categories like Ball sports, Competitive Sorts, Individual sports, Team sports etc. Each sport needs specifictrainingand has specific requirements. High performance level athlete besides their own hard work & dedication require ample facilities in terms of scientific training by coaches, sophisticated equipments etc. Boxing is one of those individual sports in which a boxer has to perform maximum in minimum time. His good performance in few minutes can bring laurel to him, which depends on his training and other facilities provided to him. History of Boxing - Boxing is a combat sport in which two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win. Victory is achieved if the opponent is knocked out and unable to get up before the referee International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity Page 216 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Volume 5 Issue 2 [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 – 9809 counts to ten seconds (a Knockout, or KO) or if the opponent is deemed too injured to continue (a Technical Knockout, or TKO). If there is no stoppage of the fight before an agreed number of rounds, a winner is determined either by the referee's decision or by judges' scorecards. Fist fighting depicted in Sumerian relief carvings from the 3rd millennium BC while an ancient Egyptian relief from the 2nd millennium BC depicts both fist-fighters and spectators. Both depictions show bare-fisted contests. In 1927 Dr. E. A. Speiser, an archaeologist, discovered a Mesopotamian stone tablet in Baghdad, Iraq depicting two men getting ready for a prize fight. The tablet is believed to be 7,000 years old. The earliest evidence for fist fighting with any kind of gloves can be found on Minoan Crete (c. 1500–900 BC), and on Sardinia, if we consider the boxing statues of Prama mountains (2000–1000 BC). Homer's Iliad (675BC) contains the first detailed account of a boxing fight (Book XXIII). According to the Iliad, Mycenaean warriors included boxing among their competitions honoring the fallen (1200 BC), though it is possible that the Homeric epics reflect later culture. Another legend holds that the heroic ruler Theseus, said to have lived around the 9th century BC, invented a form of boxing in which two men sat face to face and beat each other with their fists until one of them was killed. In time, the boxers began to fight while standing and wearing gloves (with spikes) and wrappings on their arms below the elbows, although otherwise they were competed naked. Boxing was first accepted as an Olympic sport in 688 BC, being called Pygme or Pygmachia. Participants trained on punching bags (called a korykos). Fighters wore leather straps (called himantes) over their hands, wrists, and sometimes breast, to protect them from injury. The straps left their fingers free. Legend had it that the Spartans were the first to box as a way to prepare for sword and shield fighting. Boxing in Olympic Games Boxing is one of the most popular games, especially in Europe and the America. Legends like Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Benny Leonard, Mickey Walker along with many stars have brought worldwide fame and recognition to the sport. Boxing was earlier known by the name Pugilism, meaning sweet science Boxing has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since its introduction to the program at the 1904 Summer Olympics, except for the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, because Swedish law banned the sport at the time. The 2008 Summer Olympics was the final games with boxing as a male only event. Beginning with the 2012 Summer Olympics, women's boxing also has been included in the Olympic Games. International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity Page 217 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Volume 5 Issue 2 [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 – 9809 The boxing competition is organized as a set of tournaments, one for each weight class. There have been between 5 and 12 Olympic weight classes over the years (currently 11), and the definition of each class has changed several times, as shown in the following table. Until 1936, weights were measured in pounds, and from 1948 onwards, weights were measured in kilograms. Boxing in India Indian boxer participated in the Olympic very first time in 1948 in London. There were seven members in the team but only one of them could reach the second round. In 1952 at Helsinki four boxers participated but all lost their opening bouts. At the Tokyo Olympics, India participated through PadamBahadur Mal but he was vanquished in the earlier round. At Munich in 1972, three boxers again participated in the event but the result was as dismal as in earlier Olympic. The two boxers, Machiah and S.K. Ray participated in the Montreal Olympic lost in their first round. At the Moscow Olympics, Ganpatimanoram was knocked out in the second round in the Bantam Weight while Amala Das and B.S. Thapa faded away in the first round. It was unlucky that the Indian boxers lost their bout in splits decisions though they did put up a plucky fight. Manoram is in fact head won his first round against Guinean boxer in a convincing fashion. Indian boxer have done much better at the common wealth games at Edinburgh in 1970, ShivajiBhosle won a bronze. In the next games, Indian boxers raped a reach harvest of three silver and two bronze medals. At Edmonton in 1978, however, Indians were cut down to a solitary and two bronze medals. In the Asian region, there has been an assortment of success and set back in the ring for our boxer. In 1970 Asian games the highlight was the heavy weight Hawa Singh won the Gold medal but it is in the background of the others competition among Asian Amateur boxer that India’s performance can be suitably judge. After a year Federation of Asian amateur boxing was established, the first amateur boxing was staged in Bangkok. India did not send any boxer to this championship which was held in 1963, even though they had performed creditably at Jakarta in Asian Games, winning a gold medal and two bronze medal, besides the best boxers trophy awarded to services men P.B. Mal neither did India send the boxer for the second Asian Championship which was held a couple of years later in Korea. India, represented by a team of seven boxers, took part for the first time in the Teheran Asian championships in 1971. They won two gold medals and one silver and would have won one more gold medal had it not been for the disqualification of Hawa Singh (heavyweight) for International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity Page 218 www.irjmsh.com IRJMSH Volume 5 Issue 2 [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 – 9809 not stepping back on the command "Break". The 1971 Asian, however, were not up to the mark and left much to be desired. The 1973 Asian championships held in Bangkok—Thailand saw the Indian team reduced to three boxers who brought one gold and two silver medals. Encouraged by the good performance of the Indian boxers at the last championship, India again sent three boxers to participate in the 1975 Asian championships at Yokohama, Japan who although, not as successful as the previous team, won one silver and a bronze. At the 1977 Championships in Jakarta, the Indian team did not win any medal. Indian boxers put up a fine show at the ninth Asian Amateur Championships held in Bombay in February, 1980. They bagged two gold, three silver and five bronze medals. Korea, with three Gold and three Silver was however placed above India because of the one plus in gold medals India took second place, which shows the gradual improvement in the standard of Indian boxers. There was yet another shift in the performances. The medalists this time were from the heavy body weight class.