Olympics: Once beaten, boxer Nishant Dev toughens up to seal Paris berth

Two months ago, Nishant Dev was devastated after losing his Olympic quota bout to 2021 world championships silver medallist Omari Jones of USA. Nishant put up a strong fight against Jones, taking an early lead throwing quick jabs, but it wasn’t enough. Indian boxer Nishant Dev(PTI)

So, when the opportunity came to seal the Paris Olympics quota this time at the World Olympic Qualification tournament in Bangkok, Nishant didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

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Giving a clinical performance in all the three bouts, Nishant booked his berth for the Paris Olympics. In the quota-deciding bout, the 23-year-old defeated Moldova’s Vasile Cebotari by a unanimous 5-0 verdict.

“I was better prepared this time, physically and mentally. I lost in the previous qualifier by a very small margin, so this time I wanted to make sure I did not make any errors. I lost the first round to the US boxer 5-0 and then I had to pick myself up in the next two rounds. It didn’t go in my favour. In the ring, I could not understand what had happened but when I went to the changing room, it dawned on me what I had lost. I was heartbroken for the next few days,” he said.

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With not much time left for the final qualification tournament, Nishant regrouped quickly. “I spoke to my coaches, my team and got back to the ring after a small break from the camp. I worked on my stamina, and endurance worked. I generally tire in the last round, but you saw that this time I was holding on. In fact, I was enjoying the third round. I also wanted to dominate from the first round and all these changes and the hard work I had put in made it comfortable for me.”

Having returned without earning any Olympic berth in the previous two qualification tournaments, the men’s team was under immense pressure to deliver. To make matters worse, high performance director Bernard Dunne resigned.

"After Italy, everyone was worried because we could not win a single berth. We got a break from the camp for 4-5 days and went home. We started afresh trying to forget what had happened. Actually, we performed well. Some of us lost close bouts. Dunne’s resignation did not impact much in terms of training because coach Dmitry (Dmitruk) was there and he used to train us earlier also. There was no major change in training.”

Nishant, a world championships bronze medallist, has been one of the most consistent boxers in recent times. He packs power in his punches and can also adapt in the ring. Showing good foot movement and fast hands, Nishant was able to keep his opponents guessing while scoring. He used the combination of right jab and left cross to great effect against Cebotari.

“I am quick and I have power. But I think my strength is that I can adapt to my opponent's style. If my opponent is fast, or has powerful punches, I know how to break him down. The international experience over the last few years has helped me choose different gameplans and execute it in the ring.

“My confidence was very high this time, so all the bouts were comfortable. My timing of punches was good and I was able to mix it up well, using speed, feints.”

Nishant and Amit Panghal are the only men’s boxers to qualify. Four women have also qualified for Paris.

It will be Nishant’s first Olympics and the 71kg class will not be easy.

“It is the toughest weight class. In the last qualifier, there were around 74 boxers and the number was similar this time. You have boxers coming from 69kg, 67kg and 75kg. There are two world champions who have qualified. You need power, speed and skills. I want to go fully prepared making strategies for all my opponents. I want to give my best in every bout.”