Paresh Lal Roy

Paresh Lal Roy (20 December 1893 – 30 December 1979) was an Indian amateur boxer, credited with popularising the sport among Indians. He is known as the Father of Indian Boxing. His grandson is the Indian journalist and founder of the NDTV television network, Prannoy Roy. Early life Roy came from the landlord family of Lakhutia in Barisal district. He was born on 30 December 1898, he was the third of six children of Peary Lal Roy and Lolita Roy in a Bengali family. Indra Lal Roy was his younger brother. Roy came from a family of highly qualified and established persons. His father was a barrister and his maternal grandfather Dr. Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty was one of the first Indian doctors to be trained in Western medicine. Roy received his education in England. He attended the St. Paul's School in London. At the age of ten he began training in boxing under Billy Childs, the then boxing coach at Cambridge who later became the featherweight world champion. Jim Driscoll himself took the responsibility of training Roy. Roy became the school champion. He passed in B.A. from Cambridge University. At Cambridge won the university championship from Oxbridge and became an Oxford Blue. Roy was the first Cambridge Blue from Asia.