Suranjoy moves on in life

The former Commonwealth Games and Asian championship gold medallist is working as a coach with his employer Indian Navy and enjoys his job of hunting for talented boxers.

Suranjoy Singh... grooming youngsters.

Injury might have forced Suranjoy Singh to hang up his gloves in his late 20s, but the diminutive boxer has taken everything in his stride to move on in life.

Now, the former Commonwealth Games and Asian championship gold medallist is working as a coach with his employer Indian Navy and enjoys his job of hunting for talented boxers at the National boxing championship here.

Suranjoy, who was in the limelight after claiming a rare Asian title in 51kg in 2009 and becoming the first Indian to achieve the feat after a gap of 15 years, had grabbed a lot of attention for his gold medal winning performance at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010.

However, an injury dented his progress. “After the 2012 Olympic qualifiers, I quit boxing due to a knee injury. I returned in 2013 and had pain in the other leg. So I decided to quit altogether,” Suranjoy told Sportstar .

“I thought of grooming youngsters. In 2015 I completed my NIS course. I have been training boxers in Navy for the last one year and I am here to look for new talent.”

Suranjoy, who was nicknamed Chhota Tyson during his active years as a boxer, is saddened to see the decline in the standard of the boxers due to lack of competitions. “Boxers have suffered a lot due to ban on the federation. The performance graph has gone down; we did not get a medal in the Rio Olympics.

“Boxing is not just about fights. The boxers have to get adequate competitions to become sharp and better. Because of the lack of competitions, boxers don't look sharp here. As a talent scout at an elite domestic event, I look for technique, energy and strength in a boxer.”

Suranjoy, nevertheless, thought that Indian boxers should take much time to get back to top. “We have got the boxers and we know how to do it. Two to three years should be good enough time.”

Someone who became a victim of injuries, Suranjoy said, “There has to be a nice balance between competition and rest. Suppose you are participating in a championship like this, where you are playing five rounds, then you should take a one-month break.”