Chandigarh: Growing up in Yuinban, a village in Manipur, L
Devendro Singh would often accompany older sister L Sushila Devi to her training
centre in Imphal, where she sparred alongside the likes of L Sarita Devi and
five-time World Champion MC Mary Kom.
When his name figured on the list of boxers chosen in the Indian team for the
World Championships, his dream of emulating his sister’s achievements —
including two national titles — looked to be on track. With the likes of Asian
silver medalist Amandeep Singh and former world youth champion Nanao Singh
missing out, Devendro’s inclusion came as a surprise, but the 19-year-old
light-flyweight boxer is eager to perform well.
The early lessons absorbed from his sister made a big impact on Devendro.
“Often, Mary and other boxers would come home. I used to watch them and took my
first steps in boxing by training with them. Since most of them were in the
pin-weight category (46kg), it was never a problem for me since my weight was
same in my sub-junior days.
“They would often discuss strategies and that helped me a lot. Sometimes, we
used to walk more than 10 kms from the village to Imphal,” said Devendro while
speaking to The Indian Express on Thursday after his inclusion in the World
Championships team.
Early beginner
An early induction in the SAI centre under coach Ibomcha Singh meant that
Devendro would often train, in his younger days, with Suranjoy Singh and Dingko
Singh. Devendro’s first sub-junior nationals gold came in 2003. He followed that
with five more medals in the junior nationals — three gold, one silver and a
bronze. He went from strength to strength in junior events after that, his medal
haul in the following years including a gold at the Cuba Invitational tournament
in 2008, a silver in the 2010 Asian Junior Championship in Iran and a bronze in
the Hyder Ali Cup in 2008.
“The silver medal in Iran boosted my confidence a lot. That event was tough
as most junior Asian champions were taking part. Hyder Ali also sees the
presence of European and Asian boxers and the bronze there meant a lot to me,”
says Devendro, who is a hawaldar with the Indian Army and trains at ASI Pune.
Devendro took part in his first, and so far only, senior international
tournament at the World Military Games in the USA in 2010 and won a bronze
medal. Amandeep Singh’s fine displays in the Commonwealth Boxing Championships
and during the Commonwealth Games meant that Devendro had to wait for his
chances but he surprised Amandeep and Nanao at the trials with his swift
footwork and hard punches.
“I was confident during the trials. After Nanao injured his wrist last year,
he worked a lot with me and it helped me a lot in the trials too. Amandeep is a
tall boxer as compared to other boxers in the category and I worked on my feet
movement to counter his height advantage,” said Devendro.
With the World Championships starting in a month’s time, Devendro is hopeful
of earning one of the available ten quota places in Baku. “Most of the Asian
boxers are top ranked in the world and pose a threat in World Championships. It
will be an exciting opportunity for me,” he says.