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

New Delhi, June 13 (PTI) 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 in Zhuhai, China Saturday.

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 Saturday, 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 told PTI.

"I didn't keep track of whether I was leading or trailing
and that was a good thing considering it was such a close
bout. I attacked him hard in the third round after taking it
slightly easy in the first two rounds," Suranjoy, the reigning
national champion, said.

"I fought with my guard down for some time as this tactic
can unsettle the opponent and thankfully the strategy worked.
I was confident of winning a gold when I first landed here and
I am glad that I have managed to do that," the 22-year-old
Manipuri added.

However, 18-year-old youth world champion Nanao Singh
(48kg) was not as lucky and went down 8-9 to Thailand's
Pongprayoon Keaw.

"It was so heartbreaking. Nanao was so much better than
his opponent. He fought so well but just didn't have the
luck," said coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.

"It was a see-saw battle and our boy led most of the time
but the lead was narrow and Keaw managed to catch up in the
end," he explained.

In the light weight summit clash, Jai Bhagwan lost 3-8 to
Hudayberdiev Serdar of Turkmenistan to settle for the second
place.

The Haryana-boxer was a bronze medallist in the 2005
Asian Championships in Vietnam and despite the improved colour
of his medal this time, he was disappointed at missing the
gold.

"I wanted the gold. I fought hard but his tactics were
way too evasive. He ran around the ring a lot and was hard to
catch. But I am glad that our team has done so well," Jai
said.

Sandhu, who was also the coach of the team both in 1982
and 1994, said the country's boxers made quite a reputation
for themselves this time.

"It has been just fantastic. I was expecting at least
four gold medals but unfortunately that didn't happen. Even
then my boys have done the country proud by beating boxers
from some top countries," he said.

India had sent an 11-member team for the event, out of
which 10 made the quarterfinals. Chhote Lal Yadav (57kg) and
Vijender's cousin Balwinder Beniwal (64kg) lost in close bouts
in the quarterfinals.

While Balwinder lost on count-back, Yadav lost by a point
after having been declared the winner initially. PTI PM
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