Why a Pakistani Boxer Said “I Hate Narendra”

A boxing match between India and Pakistan usually carries more than the pressure of winning or losing. But one bout in 2015 ended with something nobody in the ring could have expected: a joke about the name “Narendra.” Indian boxer Narender Berwal had just defeated a Pakistani opponent when the two ended up together at a hospital, both needing stitches. What happened next turned a tense sporting encounter into an unforgettable story. Years later, when Berwal narrated the incident in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the punchline was so unexpected that even the Prime Minister could not stop laughing.





Narender Berwal remembered his first fight at the 2015 World Military Games as an unusually tense encounter. His opponent was from Pakistan, and the match carried extra emotional weight because of the military setting and tensions between the two countries. Berwal recalled being told by officials that he could not afford to lose the bout. He entered the ring knowing that the contest meant more than a personal sporting challenge. He eventually won the fight, taking the first round 4-1 and the second 3-2. But the toughest part of the story was still waiting outside the ring.





Winning the match did not mean Berwal simply walked away with his victory. Both boxers had suffered facial cuts during the contest and needed stitches. Instead of remaining opponents, they found themselves travelling to the hospital together for treatment. It was an unusual ending to an intense India-Pakistan sporting contest. Inside the ring, every punch had been about competition. Outside it, both athletes were dealing with the same reality of injuries and recovery. That change in circumstances created the perfect setting for an unexpected conversation between two rivals who had just finished fighting each other.

While they were together after the fight, the Pakistani boxer began talking to Berwal. The conversation eventually turned toward the name Narendra. Berwal explained that his coach was also named Narendra Rana. At the time, Narendra Modi had recently become India's Prime Minister. The Pakistani boxer noticed the unusual coincidence. Berwal later recalled that his opponent paused before asking if he could say something. What followed was not an angry political statement or another challenge. Instead, it was a playful observation that completely changed the mood of the conversation and gave the story its unforgettable punchline.

The boxer reportedly told Berwal, “Your name is Narender, your coach's name is Narender, and your Prime Minister's name is Narendra. I have started to hate the name Narendra.” The humour came from the sheer coincidence. After facing a boxer named Narender, meeting his coach Narender and knowing India's Prime Minister was Narendra, the Pakistani fighter jokingly felt that the name had followed him everywhere. It was the kind of spontaneous humour that neither athlete could have planned. The fierce competition had suddenly turned into a light-hearted exchange between two people sharing an unusual moment after a difficult fight.

Years later, Berwal shared the story during a felicitation ceremony at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. He began explaining the 2015 encounter and gradually built up to the hospital conversation. When he reached the punchline about the name Narendra, the reaction was immediate. Modi burst into laughter. The moment stood out because it showed a completely different side of a story that had begun with military pressure and an India-Pakistan boxing contest. What could have remained a small memory from a tournament became a warm and humorous anecdote shared years later in front of the very person whose name had been part of the joke.

India-Pakistan sporting contests often carry enormous attention because the rivalry extends beyond the scoreboard. Yet Berwal's story offers a different perspective. Two athletes entered the ring as fierce competitors, fought hard, suffered injuries and then sat together in a hospital. Their conversation ended not with hostility, but with laughter. That does not erase the seriousness of sporting rivalry or the emotions surrounding it. Instead, it shows how sport can create unexpected human moments. For a few minutes after the fight, there were no complicated headlines or political arguments. There were simply two injured athletes sharing a joke about an oddly familiar name.

The most memorable part of this story is not the scorecard. It is the transformation that happened after the final punch. A match filled with pressure became a hospital conversation. Two opponents became temporary companions. And a common name became the reason for laughter years later. Berwal's story reminds us that sporting history is often remembered through small human moments rather than statistics alone. The rivalry may have lasted only a few rounds, but the joke stayed with Berwal for years. When he finally told it to Modi, the laughter gave that old boxing encounter an entirely new life.


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