Indian boxer Nishant Dev.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: With their top male pugilists struggling to book an Olympic quota, the atmosphere in the Indian boxing fraternity over the last 10 months or so was that of concern.
Four women had punched their tickets to Paris as early as October last year, which evidently put pressure on their male counterparts to follow suit.
Just when it looked like the Indian boxing contingent would be an all-women squad for this edition of the quadrennial bash, Nishant Dev stepped up to seal a quota by reaching the semifinal at the last Boxing Olympic Qualifiers event in Bangkok around nine weeks ago.
The youngster had come close in March, but a narrow loss in the quarterfinal meant that he would have to wait for another two months to make the cut in the very last available chance.
“Those few months after March were a bit anxious,” offers Nishant. “But I put my head down and worked harder. My brother and a few loved ones didn’t lose faith in my abilities. That helped,” he says.
The 23-year-old, who is headed to his maiden Olympic Games, will be competing in the men’s 71kg category and is currently training at the Olympic Centre in Saarbrucken, Germany as part of a month-long camp before flying to Paris.
“Right now, the focus is on the sharpness in our body movements. The volume in terms of training is less but the intensity is very high,” explains Nishant about the last-minute preparations with less than two weeks left for the Games to begin.
Nishant’s first bout in the round of 32 is scheduled for July 28 inside a ring at the North Paris Arena (venue for boxing at Paris), exactly 13 days from now. Ask him about nerves, and the boxer dismisses the question with a swift ‘no’. “I’m confident. No jitters as such. No,” he says. “From my point of view, there is no opponent who I consider as tough. I’m confident of doing well.”
The sureness in his voice is admirable. After all, the boy from Karnal in Haryana, whose journey to elite sport, similar to most athletes, had to overcome hurdles at regular intervals. His own story, he says, is where he will draw strength from to bring home an Olympic medal.
“It has been an up and down journey so far. I have had two surgeries on my right hand that were 10 years apart due to which I had to miss major competitions. But now my time has come to prove my worth and I’m confident of doing so.”