On March 23, the chairman of the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) Gopinath Pillai and CEO of Sports Hub Singapore Manu Sawhney launched a book titled Nation At Play: A History Of Sport In India.
The book, authored by senior research fellow at ISAS Ronojoy Sen and published by Columbia University Press, was launched at the Singapore Cricket Club. The book launch was followed by a panel discussion involving head of department at the National University of Singapore’s South Asian Studies programme Professor Vineeta Sinha, senior correspondent of The Straits Times Rohit Brijnath, Mr Sawhney and the author.
In his opening remarks Mr Pillai spoke about the need for chronicling the history of sport in Singapore. He also raised India’s lack of success in international sports events and its contrast with China.
Mr Sawhney, the former managing director of ESPN STAR Sports, spoke about how television broadcasting had revolutionised cricket in India.
He also noted that the success of tournaments like cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL) has had an effect on other sports. He singled out kabaddi, a traditional Indian sport, which now has its own IPL-style tournament that is watched by millions.
Mr Sen, in the introduction to his book, dwelt on two sportspersons, mentioned in it, who have relevance to Singapore. The first was a hockey player called Sadhu Singh. When the Indian hockey team was in Singapore on its way to Los Angeles for the 1932 Olympic Games, they were asked to consider including Sadhu Singh, a Malayan-born Sikh, in the team.
There was a precedent since Lall Singh, an Indian born in Malaya had been selected to play for India in its first cricket Test match in 1932 against England. Lall Singh, however, had been sponsored by a Kuala Lumpur businessman to participate in the trials in Calcutta. He went on to play in the only Test of the series at Lord’s in London.
Sadhu Singh did not have such luck and he was not included in the Indian squad. However, as a token gesture he played for the Indians when they played against an All-Malaya team.
The other sportsperson in the book, with a connection to Singapore was the famous Dara Singh, who in the 1950s was known as the Champion of Malaya. His bouts in the Happy World venue in Singapore found regular mention in the Singapore Free Press newspaper.
Dara would go on to become, in the words of a commentator, the “first Indian superhero”, whose bouts were watched regularly by crowds in excess of 50,000 in India.
Later Dara would also act in Bollywood films becoming one of the first to bring the sporting and film industry together in India, which is now fairly commonplace.
The panel discussion focused on several topics, including the place of women in sport, India-Pakistan sporting contests and the role of the Indian state in promoting sports.
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