21 October, 2026 – Amritsar : His finesse is what makes him stand out. An Assistant Sub Inspector with the Punjab Police, Baljinder Singh, not only trains budding boxers, but also ensures they achieve their gold goal.
The man behind the best boxing talent juggles two jobs, with three of his players ending up in the squared circle of Cambodia.Having produced 11 international players in the past 20 years, Baljinder Singh has a lot on plate.
Preferring peace to money, the coach said: “Boxing is my passion and police job a source of livelihood.”A national player, Baljinder Singh took to coaching in 1999. He has produced over 300 national players, with 138 being placed in various government departments.
Those from the city whom he trained went on to bag 11 gold medals in the All India Inter-University Games and the Khelo India University (introduced in 2020).
Baljinder Singh was appointed a coach by the then Punjab Sports Director, Pargat Singh, in 2004-2005.
He trains budding players for free at the boxing centre in Khalsa College and the team has remained champions in the inter-college boxing championship for the past 16 years.
Recalling his early coaching days, Baljinder Singh said back then, boxing was associated with street brawls, and not everybody’s cup of tea. But things changed with the passage of time, he added.
Now, even those pursuing MTech and MBBS show inclination to the sport, with close to 30 per cent of his players being girls. Even his daughter is a pugilist. He added that for self-defence, more and more girls should be encouraged to learn how to box.
Baljinder Singh hopes to represent Punjab someday.
The Tribue