Gold medal winning ex-boxer now works as a sweeper

What's the story?

In another example of the apathetic attitude towards sportspersons in the country, it has emerged that national level boxer Krishna Routh is living a life of penury in Howrah. The 44-year old Routh, who has been a gold medallist at the All India Invitational Boxing Championship, now supports his family working as a sweeper with the Howrah Municipal Corporation.

Routh was merely 15 years of age when he won his gold medal in 1987. Now, 30 years later, he sprays disinfectants in open drains, and shares one room with 5 other members of his family.

"I don't get proper wages. My son and daughter are studying, and it's difficult to pay for their studies. If my job is permanent, I will be able to better take care of their educational needs", Routh told News18.

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Despite being in a dire situation, the ex-boxer's passion for the game has not died out. He still takes out time every day to train 40-50 children free of charge, some of whom have gone on to play at National and State-level championships. Ironically, some of his students have also got employment because of boxing, something that always eluded Routh.

The heart of the matter

Unlike some of his luckier students, Routh has never managed to get any job or help from the government because of his boxing exploits.

He claims to have given interviews at various places, but all ended with unfulfilled promises and disappointment. Routh feels that not only has the government failed to take care of him, but the authorities have also been very inaccessible for common people like him.

What's next?

The story, courtesy of News18, shows Krishna Routh's predicament and India's wrestling legend Sushil Kumar has come forward to help.

Sushil has promised to help Routh in whatever way he can and also appealed to the West Bengal government and the people of the country to come forward and assist the boxer.

Sushil underlined that after playing and winning medals for the country, sportspersons should expect to be taken care of, especially by the authorities.

Author's take

Krishna Routh's present state is unfortunately only one of many instances of sportspersons being forgotten and languishing in poverty after retirement.

As long as this continues, it is difficult for a sporting culture to develop in the country. With hundreds of tales such as Routh's, it is easy to see why a young talented athlete will be wary of seeing sports as a serious professional option.

The responsibility to end this state of affairs falls on everyone: fans for noticing sportspersons more than once every four years during the Olympics; the media for properly highlighting their achievements and sacrifices; and corporate authorities for requisite financial and administrative support, so that when a player walks out to compete, he does not need to be worried about anything else other than the task in hand.