Actor Sooraj Pancholi to play role of this legendary boxer

It appears like the list of the sports biopics releasing this year is not willing to cease anytime soon. After Ranveer Singh’s ’83, Kangana Ranaut’ Panga, Ajay Devgn’s Maidaan, Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey, Farhan Akhtar’s Toofan, Parineeti Chopra’s Saina, Tapsee Pannu’s Shabaash Mithu, actor Sooraj Pancholi will reprise the role of legendary Indian Boxer Hawa Singh in the biopic by the same name. Salman Khan shared the poster of the movie on Twitter on Tuesday.

Hawa se baatein karega singh… #HawaSinghBiopic @Sooraj9pancholi pic.twitter.com/2zS0AQYs0n

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) February 4, 2020

The biopic on Singh has been in the pipelines since early 2017. Before Sooraj Pancholi bagged the role, John Abraham was in talks to star as the main role. Pancholi, who made his debut in the movie ‘Hero’ in 2015, will undergo professional training for months to play the part. 

?? #ComingSoon pic.twitter.com/cOLaYCNsja

— Sooraj Pancholi (@Sooraj9pancholi) February 3, 2020

He will face off against professional boxers from neighbouring nations of Pakistan, Bangladesh and others. Junaid Wasi has written the film. Kamlesh Singh and Sam S Fernandes will produce the Prakash Nambiar-directed film. 

A brief history of Hawa Singh

Hawa Singh is an 11-time national champion, 2-time Asian gold medallist boxer and the mentor of Indian boxing star, Vijender Singh among others. Born in pre-independence India on 16 December 1937, Hawa Singh joined the Indian National Army in 1956 as a 19-year-old.

The youth boy from Umar Was (now in Haryana) started boxing in the army. He first lifted the Western Comand title in 1960 by defeating the reigning champion, Mohabbat Singh.  Hawa Singh won National Boxing Championship Title undisputedly for 11 years in a row from 1961 to 1972, a record no boxer has bet till date. 

Hawa was unable to travel to the 1962 Asian Games, Jakarta, because of the diplomatic tussle over the Indo-China border. However, he made up with it by winning the gold medal in the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games, Bangkok. 

Hawa Singh beat Iranian Bura in the final round of the 1974 Asian Games at Tehran. However, a controversial decision from the referee came in the way from him winning the gold for a third consecutive time. 

After retirement, Hawa Singh became a coach and co-founded the illustrious Bhiwani Boxing club in the 1980s; which has produced champions like Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar. Singh passed away in the year 2000, 15 days before he was slated to receive the Dronacharya Award from the President of India.