Guwahati: Discipline, valour, punctuality and regimented life. These are just some of the attributes that our men in uniform are known for. So, it makes sense that everyone associated with the Army, no matter how big or small, will be taught to imbibe these skills.
Imdad Hussain can consider himself lucky.
A resident of Dibrugarh, Hussain is one among several trainees who undergo the drills of what it takes to be an army boxer at the famed Army Institute of Sports in Pune. And he is also lucky because this institute has shaped the likes of Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Jeremy Lalrinnunga, Asian & CWG medallist boxers L Devendro Singh and Amit Panghal, CWG medallists Avinash Sable (athletics), weightlifter Achinta Seuli, to name a few.
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From using sniffer dogs to track the usage of mobile phones by athletes to regular quality checks of food served for trainees, to getting the best medical facilities for injury management, and job security for medal winners at domestic and international competitions, the ASI, started in 2001 with the concept of ‘Mission Olympics’, boasts of world-class training facilities for disciplines like Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Diving, Wrestling, Weightlifting and Fencing.
Imdad, now 19, came under the wings of the institute’s Shillong centre as part of its Boys Sports Company (BSC), a special sporting unit for Under-18 athletes when he was 14. He had reached the quarterfinals of the sub-junior school nationals, held in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, which was his second tournament after clinching Gold at the inter-district level on debut.
“During the tournament in Punjab, one of the Army scouts showed interest in my technique and got in touch with my father. I was completely unaware of what was in store. They wanted me to appear for the trials, although I had no clue about their plans. For me, boxing was the only thing in mind and getting inside the ring was the main goal no matter how strong was the opponent,” Imdad, who returned from the 2nd North East Olympic Games, Shillong with Assam’s lone gold in boxing, told EastMojo during the trials for the upcoming national championships, here.
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After returning from Punjab, Imdad pocketed another Gold at the inter-district meet the following year. When the trial dates arrived, Imdad found himself among the selected five pugilists out of 770 boxers from across the country for the Shillong campus.
“I was surprised to see my name on the list but there was a pain inside of leaving my family behind. My parents have always been very supportive and I eventually landed in Shillong for the next four years. Initially, it was difficult, but I started enjoying my stint as it had better training facilities and I had to only focus on my boxing besides my studies,” he narrated.
During his stint, Imdad bagged a Gold at the Khelo India sub-junior meet in Guwahati in 2017 and gradually moved to the Youth circuit where he picked a bronze at the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) in Guwahati in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic halted sporting events across the globe.
At the international level, Imdad has participated in the fourth Emil Jechev Youth International Boxing Championship in Bulgaria in 2019.
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Imdad soon made his way to the ASI campus in Pune and went on to take a silver at the KIYG in Panchkula before striking Gold in his first ‘senior’ event in Shillong.
Blessed with a technically sound approach, the southpaw, weighing around 65kgs, believes his 5 ’9’’ frame is apt for the light welterweight 63.5 kgs but is aware of the competition from the seasoned Shiva Thapa, whom he considers an inspiration for all youngsters from the state.
“If you see my height, it gives me an edge in the 63.5kg category and I am very comfortable in it. But since Shiva da is already there, there is hardly any chance. He has been an inspiration with his fitness and performance over the years, it’s not easy in combat sports to sustain a career for so long. Now I am competing in the 67kgs where boxers from higher weight categories also compete so it’s all the more challenging,” he explained.
Battle with obesity
Inamul Hussain, a former national boxer-turned-coach, said he did not want his son Imdad to take up the sport as it would hurt him more in case the youngster doesn’t make it big. Inamul, who started his Dibrugarh Boxing Academy in 2018, still rues that he could not fulfil his dreams and feared that his son would meet the same fate.
“I never wanted him to become a boxer, as I have seen the struggles during my time. He was around 10 or 11 when I put him at a local football academy in Dibrugarh. For the next six months, it seemed everything was okay before a call from his football coach changed things. The coach said, ‘even if I train your kid for the next 25 years, or send him to train in Brazil, he can’t become a footballer,’” recalled Inamul.
Frustrated at his son’s stubbornness to learn boxing, Inamul decided to put him into a badminton training facility but after a fortnight the kid confessed to his mother that he wasn’t interested in the racket sport either. And as a protest, Imdad increased his intake of junk food and soon found himself struck by obesity. One morning, Imdad gathered himself and came up to his father to plead for his case of joining boxing classes.
“Deep inside, I was happy that he is inclined to my sport, but there was fear too. What if he doesn’t make it big? Will I be judged? I didn’t want him to struggle as I did, and on the insistence of my better half, I agreed to coach Imdad but on one condition, ‘You will call me sir in the ring, and I will treat you like other kids. Also, be ready to get slapped for wrong moves,’ and the kid agreed to my condition,” Inamul recalled during the interaction with EastMojo.
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Satisfied with Imdad’s progress, Inamul is happy to be proven wrong and credits the ASI for shaping his career. “The ASI stint is a blessing for many youngsters including Imdad. No other institute can teach the importance of discipline like the ASI. There are no distractions, the trainees get the best quality food, studies, and are kept away from the nuisance called mobile phones,” he said.
By that time, Imdad had qualified for the upcoming national championships in the 67 kg category and took the seat next to his father to describe his routine at the facility in a better way.
“Our day starts at 5.30 am with light drills, and jogging, before the actual morning training session till around 8:30. We start with milk, biscuits and eggs in the morning, and after the training session, we get a heavy breakfast with bread, milk, boiled chicken, veggies. After that, we are confined to our rooms for studies, till around 1 pm. At lunch, we are served dal, rice, chapati, salad, chicken, and paneer before we head back to our rooms for rest. At 4:30 we return for an evening training session that continues till 7:30 pm.”
“The dinner is usually served by 8:30 pm, and by that time we need to submit our phones and go to sleep at 9:30. Sniffer dogs are let loose across the campus to check if anyone uses mobile phones,” he said, describing the strict vigil in the facility that has stayed true to its mission of producing Olympic medallists with Neeraj Chopra setting the bar high in the Japanese capital.
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