Nepali turns life around with help of Operation Breakthrough

Sures Gurung used to roam the streets of Hong Kong looking for trouble. But he does his fighting in the ring these days after turning his once-troubled life around through the care and guidance of Operation Breakthrough.

The charitable organisation uses sport as a means to help, rehabilitate and positively reinforce young people from disadvantaged backgrounds or families.

The 23-year-old Nepalese-born Gurung, a Hong Kong resident for more than 10 years, was offered a new lease in life when, as a 16-year-old, he was arrested for fighting in the streets with six or seven other youths. Reformed and educated - Gurung will graduate in May from the Institute of Vocational Education with a bachelor's degree in leisure and event management - the diminutive boxer will show off his skills in next week's The Road To Glory boxing tournament at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the undercard of a seven-bout tournament.

Gurung's experience in police custody after his altercation was a life-changing experience but it had a positive influence.

"I got into a fight with the local boys. It wasn't nice spending two nights in police custody when we got arrested. I didn't expect it to be that bad. It's the worst feeling you could get," recalled Gurung of his brief lock-up in Yuen Long police station. "I was really scared and it was cold. I felt I had committed the biggest crime in the world," he said.

Fortunately, Gurung's parents bailed him out. But before he was let off the hook, he went to see the police station's superintendent, Danny Lawley, who told him he would be given another chance if he channelled all his negative energy into doing something positive.