Upbeat boxers eye Commonwealth glory

On a high after its best ever performance at the Asian Boxing Championships in 27 years, Indian boxers expressed a lot of confidence.

Talking to the media after his arrival with the rest of the team in New Delhi on Tuesday, Suranjoy Singh, the sole gold medallist at the Zhuhai meet, said, "I will win gold at the Commonwealth Games."

India won one gold, two silver and four bronze medals at the meet, finishing third behind China and Uzbekistan.

Chief coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu was visibly upbeat. "Boxers who had been written off have made excellent comebacks," he said, "The youngsters have also made a mark."

On whether the contingent should be expected to bag gold at the Commonwealth Games, he said, "100 per cent."

Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Kumar was also optimistic about India's future prospects.

"We have a number of juniors like Balwinder (Beniwal), Nanao (Singh) and Suranjoy who will definitely brighten our chances of winning more medals in future," he said.

On being asked if the gold medal was expected, Suranjoy said, "Yes, I was hoping to win after bagging gold in a previous competition in the Czech Republic."

"I have to now prepare and work even harder for the forthcoming World Championships and Commonwealth Games," Suranjoy added.

He admitted that his short stature was a bit of a problem but said it wasn't a big factor.
Suranjoy's gold is India's first since 1994, when Rajkumar Sangwan had triumphed in Tehran.
"Suranjoy is very aggressive and strong-willed," remarked Sandhu.

"He was confident of and committed to winning the gold medal. He has snatched the medal from the Chinese."

Sandhu also expressed satisfaction at the team's overall showing. "It was a morale-building performance.

In fact, Vijender was also expected to win gold, but had a bit of bad luck, losing to a boxer from the host nation. The crowd's raucous cheering put him off a little."

Although he had to settle for bronze at Zhuhai, Vijender didn't sound overly disappointed. "Beating the world champion (Uzbek Atoev Abbos) in such an important tournament was extremely gratifying," he said.

Sandhu thanked the support staff for the contingent's improved display. "The entire team's coordinated efforts, in addition to the support from the sports ministry under Mr MS Gill, are bearing fruits."

Source: www.espnstar.com

Suranjoy comes of age

New Delhi, June 16: With three gold medals in three international meets this year, Suranjoy Singh is tipped to be the next big thing in Indian boxing. This, though, comes a few years after the Indian Boxing Federation’s selection committee had told him that he was not good enough.
The 22-year-old Manipuri boxer’s story seems to be the quintessential prodigy-showing-early-promise-before-losing-his-way one. But for once, it doesn’t end there.

A bronze medallist at the world junior championship in 2004, Suranjoy didn’t have a smooth transition from the junior to the senior level. Struggling to cope with the increasing demands of the sport, he failed to meet the expectations. A first-round loss at the 2007 national championship in the Capital, and he was off the selectors’ radar.

“I became so miserable when I was told that I was not good enough. That was very hard to deal with,” says Suranjoy, back from the Asian Boxing Championship in Zuhai, China. “Basically, I was finding it hard to compete at that level all of a sudden.”

Concurs national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu: “He had tremendous potential but lost his focus when he graduated to the senior level. Slowly, he was no longer being considered for national camps and Indian contingents participating in tournaments abroad. The committee, in fact, told him not to waste his time as well as theirs.

“Sometime last year, he came to me and asked for a second chance. He promised he wouldn’t let me down, and I am glad to say he hasn’t.”

Source: Indian Express

Asian Boxing Championships

Suranjoy ends India's 15-year gold drought in Asian boxing

Zhuhai (China), June 13: Manipur's Suranjoy Singh gave India its first Asian Championship gold in 15 years while Thokchom Nanao Singh and Jai Bhagwan settled for silver medals as the country's boxers rounded off a 27-year-best performance in the elite event here today.

India ended their campaign with a gold, two silver and four bronze medals, which went to Jitender Kumar (54kg) Vijender Singh (75kg), Dinesh Kumar (81kg) and Paramjit Samota (+91kg). The team was placed third in the overall standings behind hosts China and Uzbekistan.

The performance this time is a marked improvement from 1982 championships held in Seoul where the country's boxers notched up two gold, an equal number of silver and a bronze medal.

The last gold medal for India in the Asian Championship came in the 1994 edition in Tehran where Rajkumar Sangwan finished on top in the super heavy weight category.

And today, it was a fly weight (51kg) boxer who broke the 15-year jinx. Suranjoy, a junior World Championship bronze medallist in 2004, beat Li Chao of China 9-8 in a thrilling encounter.

"It was certainly not one of my best performances because my opponent came very close to upstaging me but I am thrilled to win India's first gold medal here in 15 years," an elated Suranjoy said.

Another Manipuri, Nanao (48 kgs) settled for a silver losing 8-9 in a cliffhanger finaL to Pongprayoon Keaw of Thailand.

Nanao was leading after winning the first round 3-2 and was tied 6-6 at the end of the second round. He was leading 8-7 in the third round with less than ninety seconds from the finish but the Thai boxer came back strong to win 9-8.