The 24-year-old Manipuri lad also ended a 15-year wait for India by winning gold at the Asian Boxing Championships, at Zhuhai, China, in June 2009.

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 heavyweight category.

He also became the first Indian boxer to win the gold medal in the 51 kg Flyweight Category at the Inter-Continental President's Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan in December 2009, the first-ever by an Indian in an Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) organised event.

Starting with the A K Mishra International event in Chandigarh, Suranjoy went on to finish at the top in the European Grand Prix, the Asian Championships and the President's Cup.

In the final of the event, he won by a walkover after his opponent, Benson Njangiru of Kenya failed to show.