When boxer Mohammad Hussamuddin trained at a graveyard! | Boxing News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Soft spoken to the extent that one has to lean towards his face to listen to what he is saying. That’s Mohammad Hussamuddin for you. The Nizamabad boxer, who won a bronze in his debut world championships, comes from a family of pugilists. His father Mohammad Shamsamuddin was a national-level boxer and his three other brothers – Mohammad Ehteshamuddin, Mohammad Ehtesaamuddin and Mohammad Qayamuddin – are also boxers of pedigree.
Initially, Hussamuddin was afraid to don the gloves until his father Shamsamuddin, who is a boxing coach now, got him to shed that fear and took him under his wings.
“My father used to run a hotel and after that he trained kids. There was a kabristan (graveyard) nearby where he taught us the finer points of the sport. I was very apprehensive towards boxing initially. I didn’t like the sport as I thought it was all about maar-dhaar (brawl). But my father showed that the sport is more about technique and not about brute power. As I started learning the finer points, my leaning towards the sport grew,” Hussamuddin said during an interaction with TOI.
What was boxing’s gain became a loss for gymnastics. “I was a very naughty kid. That’s why my father enrolled me in a gymnastics centre when I was really young – mainly to get my fitness in order. I started liking the sport and was pretty good at it too. But then when the time came, my father made sure I put in all my time and effort in boxing,” said Hussamuddin.
In 2012, he was selected at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Secunderabad. “The expenses required to keep going were met at ASI.”
For Hussamuddin, it was his debut world championships. But he had to pull out from his semifinal encounter against Cuba’s Saidel Horta due to a knee injury, which proved to be a dampener. “I was in good form during the tournament… missing out on gold or silver is something I do regret,” said Hussamuddin.