Father Gave Up Boxing Career To Sew Clothes; Son Wins Asian Gold

CHENNAI : A dream his father once nurtured now lives on through Vishvanath Suresh, unfolding one step at a time. The 21-yr-old, son of a former boxer-turned-tailor, clinched gold in the 50kg category at the recently-concluded Asian Boxing Championships, emerging as the only Indian male to stand atop the podium.En route to the title, the Tamil Nadu pugilist produced a defining moment in the quarterfinals, taking down the reigning world champion and world No. 1 Sanzhar Tashkenbay. In his first major senior triumph, Vishvanath show-cased striking consistency, winning every bout by unanimous decision.“This is a very big achievement, and the medal will boost my confidence ahead of the Commonwealth and Asian Games. I was consistent and in the quarterfinals I did not think of my opponent as a world champion. Had I done so, I might have come under pressure. To me, he was just another boxer, and I was confident about my own abilities.“After every round (in quarters), my confidence grew, and in the final round, I knocked him to the ground. Soon after the result, I knew I was going to win gold,” Vishvanath, who is a Havildar in the Indian Army, told TOI.Behind this achievement lies a strong foundation built by father, Suresh, who steered him towards the sport. A former national-level medallist and a promising boxer in the 1990s, Suresh had set aside his own ambitions to shoulder responsibilities. After passing the fundamentals to his son, he searched for the right platform to nurture his talent.The journey was not easy. Vishvanath’s slight build led to multiple rejections, including from the Madras Engineer Group in Bengaluru. But perseverance opened doors, as he finally earned selection at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune in 2018. He earned his first major recognition by winning gold at the Asian Youth Championships in 2022.

In the middle of Gir forests in Gujarat, there lies a village named Jambur. Called ‘mini Africa’, the village is home to the Siddi community. Siddis are African-origin people who were brought to India from Africa around 300 years ago.

Rohit Majgul recently became the first from this community to qualify for the upcoming Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. While the Siddi people have some natural athletic gifts due to their African ancestry, the fact that they stand out in their appearance also invites racist jibes. Majgul, despite being a top athlete, had to suffer these insults as well.

‘People call me African’

Majgul, just 21, has suffered racist insults in the past with people even calling him African.

“People think I am African,” he told the Indian Express.

With time he got used to such comments. However, in 2019 at a national-level U-17 championship in Gujarat’s Nadiad, a few people started calling him African once again.

His heart sank. “I was disturbed and felt very bad,” he said about the incident.

“However, I have surrounded myself with good people, good friends. They told me to ignore the noise and focus on my game.”

He was the best judoka on show in that championship and soon made a promise to himself that he will so successful that people would want to take photos with him.

And now, he has taken a massive step towards his drams. In the final of the recent trials in New Delhi, he defeated Haryana’s Garvit Hooda in the -66kg category to seal a place in the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games which are both scheduled to take place later this year.

History made! Rohit Majgul becomes the first-ever Vijayi Bharat Foundation athlete to qualify for both the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. A massive milestone for VBF Gujarat and Indian Judo. The journey is just getting started. 🏆🇮🇳#IndianJudo #AsianGames #CommonwealthGames pic.twitter.com/Zwg38nhslO

— Vijayi Bharat Foundation (VBF) (@VijayiBharat_SA) February 23, 2026

From poverty to pinnacle

Men in the Siddi community usually are engaged in manual labour and performing their traditional dances for tourists in nearby hotels. Majgul’s father and cousins do the same. Majgul too was staring at a tough future before his uncle Hedubhai, a former athlete,  encouraged him to take up athletics.

“He had no future in this village,” Hedubhai told the Indian Express. “At home, they didn’t even have a proper bed or clean water to drink. He grew up in such poverty. I was an athlete myself, and my sons benefited from government sports programmes and secured jobs through the sports quota. So I decided to push Rohit into sports too.”

The Indian government has tried to tap into the athletic potential of Siddi people through the Special Area Games project. However, till now it had not produced an athlete of Majgul’s quality.

Majgul began with 400m running but soon shifted to judo where he quickly rose up in ranks and is now a national champion with an eye on international honours.

Throughout his life, Majgul has been reminded of how different he is. Unbothered with all that, he continues to take strides towards excellence. He has not just fought bouts to win medals, but also to help his community come into mainstream.

“I never dreamt about this. When I started playing judo, I imagined competing in these big events,” he told the publication. “Now that I am here, I hope to raise awareness about our community, about my people.”