Suranjoy in final of President's Cup boxing

Asian champion Suranjoy Singh maintained his rampaging form to out-punch Mexico's Baulio Avila and storm into the final of the season-ending President's Cup Boxing Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday.

The Indian pugilist, who is competing for the Asia One team, beat his opponent from the Americas Two team 10-4 in a lop-sided bout.

In Friday's final, the 22-year-old Manipuri will now take on Europe Two's Nordine Oubaali, a Frenchman who got a walkover in his semi-final bout.

Suranjoy shunned aggression for caution in the opening round and preferred to counter-attack against an aggressive Avila, who is a Pan-American Games bronze medallist. The strategy worked well, as the Indian took a slender 2-0 lead in the first three minutes.

"It was a deliberate approach to be defensive to start with because the other guy was going all out. Suranjoy kept his cool and scored with some well-executed left straights and cross punches," national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, who has been invited as one of the four coaches for the two Asian teams, said.

Suranjoy adopted a more aggressive approach in the second round and scored through some hard-hitting uppercuts to swell his lead to 7-2.

The final round followed a similar script and the Indian continued to dominate and eventually clinch the bout 10-4.

"I am thrilled to be doing well in such a prestigious event. Hopefully, I can win the gold," said Suranjoy.