Boxer Nishant Dev was left stunned when his debut Olympic campaign in Paris ended in sadness on Saturday, losing in the quarterfinal round of the men’s 71kg category.
Nishant was one win away from a medal
Nishant was one win away from securing a medal for India on a gloomy day for the Indian contingent, which also saw Manu Bhaker miss out on an unprecedented third medal in shooting and archer Deepika Kumari exit the women’s individual quarterfinals.
However, Nishant was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Mexico’s Marco Verde Alvarez via split verdict.
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Surprise defeat for Nishant Dev
The 23-year-old world championship bronze medalist, who had defeated Alvarez in the 2021 World Championships, easily won the first round and appeared to be in complete control of the fight in the second round, landing a string of massive jab hooks on the Mexican, but the judges surprisingly sided with Alvarez in that round, putting him 3-2 ahead in the tie.
Alvarez started the final round aggressively, landing a series of punches. The Indian did well to duck and dodge a number of those, but he appeared exhausted as the fight went, and his punches were slow. Alvarez took advantage of this and cruised to victory.
Fans gutted after Nishant’s loss
Nishant’s 1-4 loss to the second-seeded Mexican opponent in the quarterfinals at the North Paris Arena, however, enraged followers on social media, who accused the judges of denying India an assured gold at the Paris Olympics.
Vijender Singh, who had won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was also taken aback by the bout’s scoring system. “I don’t know what’s the scoring system, but I think very close fight, he played so well..koi na bhai #NishantDev,” Vijender commented on the website X.
