Aspy Adajania

Captain Aspy Adajania was an Ex-Serviceman (Army Infantry) known as a pioneer in the sport of Indian Amateur Boxing. Soon after leaving St. Xaxiers College, Bombay, Adajania joined the Indian Army on an emergency commission to fight the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War as a Captain of the 5/9 Gurkha Battalion.

Adajania was the President of the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) in 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1991 and the Chairman of the Bombay Boxing Association. Adajania is credited with the development of Indian Amateur Boxing by bringing in Cuban boxing coach, Blas Iglesias Fernandez, the first foreigner to receive the highest Indian coaching award, the Dronacharya Award, for coaching Indian boxers. Adajania officiated over six Olympic Games (1972  Munich, West Germany, 1976 Montreal, Canada, 1980  Moscow, Soviet Union, 1984  Los Angeles, United States, 1988  Seoul, South Korea, and 1992  Barcelona, Spain). He also brought the prestigious Super Nations Cup to India at a time when international sports of this magnitude were a rarity. Adajania served as a member of the Executive Committee and the Grievance Committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and was the first and only Indian to hold this honour on an international platform. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 1992 for his relentless service to Indian sport and commitment to promoting and supporting underprivileged Indian athletes

Captain Aspy Adajania died on July 17, 1994 while on assignment in Budapest, Hungary at the age of 52.