India’s young boxer Nishant Dev failed to make it into the semi-finals after losing his ‘controversial’ quarter-final bout at the Paris Olympics. The Indian suffered a defeat to Mexico’s Marco Verde Alvarez in the 71kg category on Saturday, August 3.
The 23-year-old’s loss was contentious, as he was defeated 4-1.
This defeat for Nishant sparked controversy, with many claiming that he was “robbed” of a medal. This decision was criticised by 2008 Olympics bronze medal winner Vijender Singh as a controversial one.
What happened in the match
In the quarter-final bout, Nishant won the first round convincingly. However, despite a strong performance in the second round, the judges awarded the decision to the Mexican by 3-2. As the match went to the decider, the final round saw a unanimous decision from the judges, who all awarded Verde ten points, resulting in the Mexican’s victory.
Nishant’s coach on the controversy
After the bout, Nishant Dev’s coach, Surinder Kumar, addressed the controversy. According to India Today, he said, “The Mexican boxer made the same mistake in all three rounds. He was hitting the head and clinching. That is a loss for the boxer only. Because he doesn’t have to fight just one bout; he has to fight in the second and third rounds as well.”
“We fought really closely. Both boxers kept fighting in close quarters. They should have fought while maintaining a distance. In fact, we had previously fought against Verde. We defeated him in 2021 in a one-sided affair,” he added.
