2010 CWG champ boxer Suranjoy to become coach
Suranjoy rose to prominence when he ended India's 15-year wait for a gold medal at the 2009 Asian Championships.
If the year 2008 in Indian boxing belonged to Beijing Olympics medallist Vijender Kumar, Manipur boxer M. Suranjoy Singh virtually stole the thunder with six gold medals in 2009-2010.
While Vijender went on to chart a new course in his career, including the recent contract with a London-based pro boxing firm, the life of Suranjoy, a potential Olympic medallist known as Chhota Tyson, took a different turn after a series of injuries.
A 29-year-old as Vijender, Suranjoy is not seen in the ring these days. In fact, he has hung up his gloves to become a coach and is currently pursuing a diploma in boxing coaching at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, a place where he attended national camps till 2013.
Suranjoy, whose dream of competing at an Olympics remains unfulfilled, said a spat of leg injuries forced him to give up boxing and in his new role he aims to impart basic skills to budding boxers.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games champion in the 52kg category said, "During the 2011 World Military Games, I injured my right leg, but kept playing as I wanted to compete at the Olympics the following year. I got my leg treated in a hospital in Mumbai but the pain returned soon. It affected my performance in the 2012 Olympic qualifiers in Kazakhstan and I missed out on the London Games.
"I was in the national camp but there wasn't any improvement in the injury and when I lost in the trials for the 2013 World Championships, I thought there was no point continuing. I went back to my Indian Navy job in Mumbai and got promoted to the post of a Master Chief Petty Officer-1 after passing an internal exam. I fought in the Inter-Services Championships last year but injured my left leg during training soon afterwards."
In an era when international boxing demands superior fitness due to an aggression-friendly scoring system, Suranjoy faced a choice to either to continue like a wounded horse or try to look for greener pastures. Coaching came into the picture there.
"I missed out on the 2004, 2008 and the 2012 Olympics while 2016 looks a distant dream due to my poor fitness. I decided to do something where I could be in touch with my sport and coaching was an obvious choice. I joined the NIS coaching programme on June 8."
Suranjoy rose to prominence when he ended India's 15-year wait for a gold medal at the 2009 Asian Championships. He went on to clinch titles at the European Grand Prix, AIBA's President's Cup and the A.K. Mishra Memorial International tournament. He added gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
Does becoming a coach mean fans will never see him in action again?
"It's a one-year course at the NIS. After this, I will go back to the Navy and want to work as a coach there. Five years later, I may retire from the Navy and start my own academy. At the same time, I want to prepare myself to compete in the 56kg category, but that depends on my schedule."
On his vision for coaching, Suranjoy said, "I want to give basic training to my wards. I feel if their base is strong they can shape their career in a better way."
Does he regret that he couldn't reach his potential?
"I tried my level best. Participating in an Olympics would have been a good way to end my career, but injuries didn't let that happen. But I can prepare trainees who can win medals at the Olympics and the World Championships."