Meet Bangladesh's best boxer: Sura Krishna Chakma
Sura Krishna Chakma, a 28-year-old boxer from Rangamati though, is a ray of hope for the sport, which is in its infancy in the country.
Boxing isn't big in Bangladesh.
In fact, you may say that it was almost non-existent professionally until Thursday when the first international boxing event took place in the country - 'Xcel presents South Asian Pro Boxing Fight Night - The Ultimate Glory'.
Sura Krishna Chakma, a 28-year-old boxer from Rangamati though, is a ray of hope for the sport, which is in its infancy in the country.
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Participating in amateur boxing since 2007, he has taken part in three professional matches till now and won all three, including his first professional match on home soil.
Sura defeated Nepalese lightweight champion Mahendra Bahadur Chand in the lightweight category.
"I had won my previous two matches on foreign soil but this was my first win in my motherland so this was a bit special for me," Sura said to The Business Standard (TBS).
Sura, who is currently studying at Dhaka University explains that he uses the gym and facilities on the campus to keep in shape.
As boxing isn't a popular sport in the country, finding sponsors or making a full time living by only boxing isn't possible yet.
"I usually make around 20 thousand taka per month by participating in different amateur boxing tournaments. But if we compare that with other sports, such as football, that's not enough."
Staying in shape, maintaining a diet and the potential worry of injury means that boxing is right now a high risk but low reward career option.
But Sura plans to make it big: "There is a professional boxing ranking. My ranking will improve because I've won three matches in a row. If I win eight matches in a row, I'll be making 1-2 lakh taka per match. The more I win, the higher my ranking will be and the more money I'll be able to make."
Among Bangladeshi boxers, Sura is the best in his weight class and has been for some time.
He's been the national boxing champion in 2014 and has retained his crown every year since then, whenever he has participated.
"I've been the best boxer in the country since 2014. I went to England for a few years from 2016-to 2018 to train and improve so I missed the competition in those years. But once I came back, I became champion again and have been so in every year since then."
Events like 'Xcel presents South Asian Pro Boxing Fight Night - The Ultimate Glory' gives boxers such as Sura hope for a better future in boxing.
"There are plans for more international boxing events in the future. If things go to plan then I can target participating in more international boxing events and get my ranking up."
In a cricket-crazy nation, trying to make a career and living out of any other sport is not easy.
But with such events, boxers like Sura can dream of making it big and putting Bangladesh's name in the global boxing map.
