Indians in Sport

Sport has been a vital part of South African Indian community life since the late nineteenth century. Indian South African athletes competed with distinction — often in the face of deliberate exclusion — and produced some of the country’s most extraordinary sporting stories.

Cricket

Cricket took root in the South African Indian community through the indentured labour period. By the early twentieth century, Indian cricket clubs were established across Natal, competing within a racially segregated structure that prevented the best Indian players from competing at provincial or national level. Several Indian South African players were widely regarded as being of provincial or Springbok quality, but apartheid ensured that recognition never came.

Papwa Sewgolum — Golf’s Great Injustice

No story in South African Indian sporting history is more poignant than that of Sewsunker “Papwa” Sewgolum. Born in 1928 in Durban, Papwa — largely self-taught and using an unconventional cross-handed grip — became one of the finest golfers South Africa ever produced. He won the Dutch Open in 1959 and 1960 and the German Open in 1963. Yet at home, apartheid denied him the right to compete in most South African tournaments. When he won the Natal Open in 1963, he was handed his trophy on the balcony outside the clubhouse — in the rain — because as an Indian, he was not permitted to enter the whites-only premises. The image of Papwa receiving his trophy in the rain became an iconic symbol of apartheid’s cruelty. He died in 1978, largely forgotten. Today he is recognised as one of South Africa’s greatest sporting heroes.

Boxing, Athletics and Beyond

Boxing was enormously popular in South African Indian communities, particularly in Natal and Johannesburg. Indian boxing clubs produced fighters who competed at the highest levels accessible to them within segregated structures. Athletics also saw Indian South African participation — long-distance runners and field athletes representing their communities in inter-race meetings and, after 1994, in open national competition.