It’s rather common practice to name your child after your favourite sportsperson. But for that child to grow into his name, and achieve at least some of the greatness that he or she was named after, is a miniscule chance.
In 2002, India’s very own Mohammed Ali managed that rare feat, winning the country’s first gold medal in boxing at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Named after the boxing legend, Mohammed Ali Qamar got “hooked on boxing when he was an eight-year-old kid in downtown Kolkata living in a two-room tenement amid squalor,” wrote the Tribune. It was his father, who had enrolled him at the Kidderpore School of Physical Education with Cheena Bhai becoming his coach.
Qamar punched his way up the boxing ladder in the national arena, Sportskeeda writes, “His first big win came in 1991 when he was crowned the Inter-district champion in West Bengal. He extended his winning run to the national sub-junior levels as he was undefeated for four straight years 1992-1996.” Unlike the sporting icon, who was a heavyweight champion, the Kolkata lad competed in the Light Flyweight category.
But it was at Manchester that Mohammed Ali Qamar found a place in the country’s boxing history when he defeated England’s Darren Langley to win India the gold in the Commonwealth Games.
“Langley was leading for most part of the summit clash, but the Indian did not give up as he outscored his British opponent 10-3 in the latter stages of the match. He also survived a standing count before he outmanoeuvred the Brit 27-25 to clinch the gold,” wrote Sportskeeda of his dramatic win.
While India’s very own Mohammed Ali went on to inspire many boxers, with Kidderpore becoming the hub of women’s boxing, Qamar’s career was “cut short by injuries,” reported Sportskeeda. Although his name lends inspiration, the man himself went into oblivion following his historic bout.