Source: The Sangai Express / TNN
New Delhi, December 12 2009:
Suranjoy Singh has become the first Indian boxer to win the Gold Medal at the President's Cup and also the first Indian to be declared the 'best boxer' of any senior men's boxing championships at the world level.
In a fantastic display of raw power and controlled aggression, Suranjoy simply decimated his French opponent Nordine Oubaali who was a bronze medallist at the 2007 World Championships as well as a participant at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu had analysed that the French boxer was an aggressive boxer and therefore Suranjoy was asked to go all out in the first round.
Suranjoy with his explosive straight lefts as well as crisp uppercuts and right crosses landed some telling blows on Nordine to lead 3:0 after the end of the first round.
The score at the end of Round 2 was 7:0 for Suranjoy.
In the third Round, both boxers scored a point apiece and ended the bout with the score reading 8:1 in favour of Suranjoy Singh.
Suranjoy was thrilled beyond words as his hand was raised as the winner of the final bout against Nordine Oubaali.
He is now stepping nearer to his ultimate dream of winning the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Hony Capt Padam Bahadur Mall was the last Indian boxer who was declared the 'best boxer' of any major event at the 1962 Asian Games.
Suranjoy Singh's coach Pal Singh Sandhu wants the "pocket-sized dynamo" to tame his aggro a bit.
Sandhu has his reasons.
But the Manipur boxer simply loves to be a beast inside the ring, quite like his idol Mike Tyson.
He loves to give it all once he's donned the gloves.
Frenchman Nordine Oubaali got a taste of the 23-year-old's ferociousness on Friday with a beating which he would remember for a long time.
In the flyweight (51kg) final in Baku, the Navyman outpunched his rival.
"He's very determined and is very, very aggressive.
He's a lot emotional and I would like him to be a bit more stable.
He's a highly talented boxer, but his emotional aspect at times makes him get carried away," an elated Sandhu told TOI from Baku.
"He was exceptional today.
He was simply brilliant in the ring.
He was very aggressive but used a lot of brain.
We all are overwhelmed" .
Friday's show must come as redemption for the 5 feet 3 inch boxer who was knocked out of the World Championships first round in October by a whisker.
It was an unexpected result coming in the wake of his performance in the Asian Championships a few months back where he became the first Indian in 15 years to win a gold.
Such stuff from a boxer who picked up the game by chance he started his career as a footballer playing as a striker for a club back home and took up boxing to be a sparring partner to his brother is really
commendable.