Master Chief Petty Officer Ngangom Dingko Singh (1 January 1979 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian boxer who won the gold medal at

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...

in Bangkok. He was from the North-eastern Indian state of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

. He was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 2013.

Achievements

Ngangom Dingko Singh, usually known as 'Dingko Singh' was an Indian boxer. He is considered to have been one of the most outstanding boxers India ever produced. He won the King's cup in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

in 1997 and won the Asian Games gold in the 1998 Bangkok Games. He was a service personnel of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. He is well known for having grabbed a gold medal in the boxing event at the Bangkok Asian Games in Thailand in 1998.

Early life

He was born on 1 January 1979 in a remote village called Sekta in the

Imphal East , native_name_lang = Meitei , other_name = omp, Nongpok Yumphal , nickname = , settlement_type = District of Manipur , image_skyline = Imphal War ...

District, Manipur to a very poor family. Dingko had to fight back adversities from the beginning of his life, and was brought up in an orphanage.

National Boxing

The trainers at a Special Area Games Scheme initiated by the Sports Authority of India identified the hidden talents of Dingko during the assessment camp from Dec. 1990 to Jan. 1991 at Khuman Lampak, Imphal. He was inducted at SAI SAG Khuman Lampak, Imphal w.e.f. 12 Feb. 1991 and trained under the guidance of Boxing coach Shri. Leishangthem Ibomcha Singh. In the same year, 20-26 Nov. 1991, in his debut at National level championship, he won gold medal in the 7th Sub. Jr. National Boxing Championship in the age group 12 years (E-2) at Ambala. This achievement brought Dingko into the eyes of the selectors and coaches, who began to see him as a promising boxing star of India .

International Boxing

He made his debut into the arena of international boxing in 1997, and won the King's cup 1997 held at Bangkok, Thailand. Apart from winning the tournament, Dingko Singh was also declared the best boxer of the meet. He also represented India at the 1998 Asian Games and at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

The Golden Opportunity

He was selected for the Indian boxing squad which participated at the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998. For unknown reasons he was dropped from the team at the last minute and dejected Dingko went on a drinking spree, collapsing after a long session of drinks. Eventually he was selected and the event proved to be pinnacle of his career as he created history by winning the gold medal in the 54 kg

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

category.

The Journey to Gold

In his journey to the gold, Dingko achieved a major upset by defeating Wong Prages Sontaya, an excellent boxer from Thailand in the semifinal match. Wong was the boxer in the World boxer at oin that class at the time, and Dingko's victory surprised everybody, the whole nation now expected something special from him.

The Golden Moment

One of the most glorious moments in the boxing event of the Bangkok Asian Games of 1998 arrived when Dingko fought the well known boxer from Uzbekistan, Timur Tulyakov in the final match. At that time, Timur held the No. 5 ranking in the division in the world. Dingko had just moved up to the 54 kg category from the 51 kg a few months back before winning the gold, which made his victory a lot more impressive. During the match, he proved to be far better than his opponent, and Timur had to retire after the fourth round of the fight.

Awards and honors

To commemorate his excellence in the sport of boxing, and his extraordinary contribution to the nation by his consistent efforts and dedication, Dingko Singh was honored with the Arjuna Award in 1998 and later with the

Award, the country's fourth-highest civilian award, in 2013.

Death

He died, on Thursday 10 June 2021, after a long battle with liver cancer. He had been fighting the disease since 2017.

Personal life

Dingko did not go professional like other boxers as he was a service personnel of the Indian Navy. He was a boxing coach and a very respected figure in the Indian Navy.

Media

A movie inspired by his life is said to be in the making. The movie starring

Shahid Kapoor Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of several awards, in ...

, to be directed by

Raja Krishna Menon Raja Krishna Menon is an Indian film writer, director and producer. He started as an advertisement director and later moved to feature films. He has directed three Bollywood films. His most recent film Chef was released on 7 October 2017. Ea ...

is expected to be released by 2022.

References

External links

* * http://www.iloveindia.com/sports/boxing/indian-boxers/dingko-singh.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Dingko 1979 births 2021 deaths Indian male boxers Asian Games gold medalists for India Boxers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of India Recipients of the Arjuna Award Boxers from Manipur Asian Games medalists in boxing Boxers at the 1998 Asian Games Boxers at the 2002 Asian Games Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Bantamweight boxers Indian Navy personnel Deaths from liver cancer