After Lovlina Bargohani, India is hoping for one more medal from boxing. Nishant Dev has reached the quarterfinals of the men’s 71 kg category at the Paris Olympics. A medal will be guaranteed only if they win the quarterfinal match. Nikhat Zarin was disappointed even though Nishant won. She lost in the last sixteen in the women’s 50 kg category.
Nishant beat Ecuador’s Jose Gabriel Rodriguez in the quarterfinals. After three rounds, he won by 3-2 points. That is, three judges gave more points to Nishant. Two gave more points to Gabriel. There is no bronze medal match in boxing. That is, the two boxers who lose in the two semi-finals will both get bronze. Hence, Nishant will at least secure bronze if he wins one more match.
Nishant was aggressive from the start. He pressured Gabriel. Move quickly. Punched in the right place. As a result, all five people put Nishant ahead in the first round. But Gabriel returned in the third round. Even after that, he could not win.
Nikhat would have gone one step closer to a medal if he had beaten China’s Wu Yu in the pre-quarterfinals. But Yu kept him under pressure from the start. Nikhat fell behind the Asian Games gold medalist and reigning world champion. All five judges put Yu ahead in the first round. Nikhat returned somewhat in the second round. After that round, two judges put Yu ahead. The remaining three judges gave the two the same points. However, in the third round, Yu showed dominance again. He beat Nikhat in experience. Nikhat lost on five judges’ points at the end of the third round.
