Jamsetji Merwanji (also spelled Jamsetjee; born 1871/2) was an Indian professional racquets player, who was

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

of the sport from 1903 to 1911.

Profile

He was a

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim con ...

who worked as a "marker" (club professional) at the

Bombay Gymkhana The Bombay Gymkhana, established in 1875, is one of the premiere gentlemen clubs in the city of Mumbai, India. Bombay Gymkhana Rugby Club (rugby union) are tenants. It is located in the Fort area of South Mumbai area and was originally built a ...

. In 1903 in England, he played Gilbert Browne at

Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship ...

and

Prince's Club The Prince's Club was a socially exclusive gentlemen's multisports club in London, England. The original 'Prince's Club' was founded in 1853 in Chelsea by George and James Prince and its main sports were rackets and real tennis. Cricket, croquet ...

for the vacant world title, winning by five games to one. The world title was contested by challenge, and the distance between India and Britain or America meant he never had to defend his title until 1911. His closest rival in India was his brother Padanji, who was a marker in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. He was finally challenged in late 1909, for 5,000

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, ...

s, by Charles Williams, who had beaten amateur E. M. Baerlein to become English champion. The contest did not take place until 1911, when several Indian sports teams journeyed to Britain around the

coronation of George V The coronation of George V and his wife Mary as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and as Emperor and Empress of India, took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Thursday 22 June 1911. This was the second of four ...

and

1911 Imperial Conference The 1911 Imperial Conference convened in London on 23 May 1911 and concluded on 20 June 1911. It was held to mark the occasion of the coronation of King George V on 22 June 1911. The conference discussed Empire-wide constitutional arrangements w ...

. Jumanji easily beat Baerlein in a warm-up match, but Williams, 17 years Jumanji's junior, beat him at Queen's Club by five games to nil.

Footnotes

References

Racquets players Parsi people from Mumbai Racket sportspeople from Mumbai 1870s births 20th-century deaths World rackets champion Year of death missing {{India-sport-bio-stub