'Stepmotherly treatment' forced
Gurcharan to leave country
Sandy Brown in Bangkok
The disappearance of Olympian Gurcharan Singh soon after the Sydney Games sent shock waves through boxing circles. But nine months later, the effects are still being felt at the boxer's home in Punjab.
Gurcharan's mother, said his brother Hardeep Singh, who was a member of the ten-member Indian team at the 24th King's Cup boxing tournament in Bangkok, continues to be depressed and weeps each time there is talk about her missing son.
Third brother Charanjit is not into boxing and runs a truck business while Hardeep is a petty officer in the Indian Navy.
Talking about his brother, Hardeep said the main reason for Gurcharan vanishing from the country was the stepmotherly treatment meted out to him by the government and the system despite an outstanding performance at the Olympics, where he lost in the quarter-finals.
Hardeep said Gurcharan was forced to leave the country as he felt his career would stagnate, having run out of sparring partners. Most importantly, he added, his brother left the country as there was no money or good job offers coming his way despite his good showing in the ring.
According to Hardeep, Gurcharan was "extremely depressed" after failing to win a medal at the Olympics. On his return from Sydney he vowed to win one at the next Games. But, he said, his family never expected Gurcharan to do the vanishing act.
It is believed that Gurcharan is now in the United States and contemplating going professional. He is not the first Indian boxer to pursue a professional career in the land of opportunity. Dharmendra Singh Yadav, Zoram Thanga and Rajkumar Sangwan had earlier left the country to join the professional circuit in the US. While Yadav returned after being unbeaten in six pro fights and has now completed a course in coaching with the National Institute of Sports, not much is known of Thanga and Sangwan.
One wonders whether Gurcharan, like Yadav, will change his mind, return and go for gold at the next Olympics in Athens, because he will be just 28 then.
