He attended Wayne State University on a Scholar-Athlete bursary as a track and field athlete. He studied English literature and graduated magna cum laude. In his third year of university, Sukunda met Istvan Danosi, the head coach of Wayne State's fencing program. Sukunda trained under Danosi in 1968, 1969 and 1970. After 1970, Sukunda trained himself. For his master's degree in English literature, Sukunda attended the University of Toronto. While competing for them, he came 1st at the OUAA Fencing Championships in Men's Sabre in 1971–1972 as well as in 1972–1973.
