Fearless attitude is secret of Dingko’s countless wins

“Fearless attitude is the secret of Dingko’s countless wins of which many have been knock-outs. Many of the big names in India’s boxing circuit have perished from the scene after encounters in the ring with this Manipuri lad,” points out Randhawa.

Dingko, in his first year with the Services, had knocked out Olympian Devendra Thapa in 46 seconds flat. “He loves to fight against big names and whenever he hears that he has to fight internationals he is a different man altogether,” quips Randhawa.

“He is a short-tempered man and there have been many incidents when he goes bonkers with anybody he comes across.” And when his name was not in the list of boxers to take the flight to Bangkok he made a scene at Patiala that evening. Dingko was inducted into Navy in January 1996 and from then onwards there has been no stopping the young boxer.

A ward of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Amala, in Manipur, Dingko was spotted in June 1995. However, since he was under aged (16 years and six months) he could not be recruited immediately in the Navy, but on the very first day of the 1996 he was taken as a non-metric entry (NMRE). Born on January 1, 1979, Dingko’s first coach was Ibomcha. “He moulded Dingko into what he is today. Ibomcha’s positive approach had set Dingko on a new path.”

After claiming the title of the best junior boxer in 1996, Dingko made his first trip abroad in 1997 to Bangkok for the Kings Cup, where he won the gold medal and the title of the most promising boxer of the championship.

Dingko started his boxing career in the flyweight category and by November 1997 he graduated to the bantam section. He knocked out Railway boxer Kiran Singh in the first round of the senior Nationals in Ambala and in the next round he meted out the same treatment to Kiran Sagar of the Services. “He is a man with God’s gift and whatever he has laid his punch on has paid off,” asserts Randhawa.

“He has no competition fear and that has made him a good boxer. When the other boxers enter the ring seriously when they face an international opponent, he enters the ring dancing,” adds his coach Randhawa.

For some he could be arrogant but for many he is the best boxer the country has produced. Incidentally, Dingko is the first Naval boxer to have won a gold medal at the international-level.

Talking about Dingko’s expulsion, one of the official of the Boxing Federation of India, stated that it is a mystery, as he was the first in the list of six boxers given by the selection committee, but ironically his name did not figure. All said and done he made it to Bangkok and silenced his critics.