Suranjoy wins gold at the Asian Boxing Championships

NEW DELHI - Suranjoy Singh ended a 15-year wait for India by winning gold at the Asian Boxing Championships, at Zhuahi, China, beating the local favourite Li Chao Saturday.

Rajkumar Sangwan was the last Indian to win a gold medal for India at the Asian Championships at Tehran in 1994.

Suranjoy (51 kgs), a Manipuri representing Services, lost a close first round but with his power-packed punches and swift footwork fought back in the second round, winning

6-4.

It was 7-7 in the third round with barely a minute left when Suranjoy pulled off two sensational points to move ahead 9-7. Chao reduced the deficit by a point but could not stop the Indian from winning 9-8.

The other two Indians, Nanao Singh and Jai Bhagwan, who along with Suranjoy made the finals, however, lost their bouts and had to settle for a silver.

Nanao Singh (48 kgs), also a Manipuri from the Services, came close to winning the gold but lost out 8-9 in a cliffhanger 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.

Jai Bhagwan (60 kgs) from the Railways and the third Indian to reach the final lost to Hudayberdiev Serdar of Turkmenistan. Jai Bhagwan was ahead 1-0 after the first round but trailed 1-2 in the second round. In the third round, Serdar showed good footwork, winning 8-3 to clinch the gold.

India, thus, ended with one gold, two silvers and four bronze medals. In the team championship India stand third after China and Uzbekistan.