Paris Olympics 2024: Nishant Dev couldn’t believe how he lost his match at the Paris Olympics, ending his debut campaign in heartbreak. On Saturday, the Indian boxer faced a devastating defeat in the quarterfinals of the men’s 71kg category, falling just short of securing a medal for India. This loss was particularly disheartening as it came on a day marked by other setbacks for the Indian contingent, including Manu Bhaker’s failure to win a historic third medal in shooting and Deepika Kumari’s quarterfinal exit in archery.
Nishant, a 23-year-old world championship bronze medallist, had previously defeated Mexico’s Marco Verde Alvarez in the 2021 World Championships. However, in their Olympic rematch, Nishant’s performance was marred by a controversial split decision. He started the bout strong, winning the opening round with apparent ease and dominating the second round with powerful jab hooks. Despite his clear control, the judges surprisingly awarded the second round to Alvarez, putting him ahead 3-2 in the tie.
In the final round, Alvarez began aggressively with a combination of punches. Although Nishant managed to evade some of these attacks, he appeared exhausted as the round progressed. His attempts to counter were slow, and Alvarez took full advantage of the situation, ultimately securing the victory with a 4-1 decision.
The result sparked outrage among fans on social media, who felt that the judges’ decision deprived India of a potentially assured medal. The criticism was echoed by Vijender Singh, the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medallist, who expressed his confusion over the scoring system. “I don’t know what’s the scoring system, but it was a very close fight… he played so well,” Vijender posted on X, using Nishant’s hashtag.
THIS IS ROBBERY!! Nishant Dev was the clear winner. Boxing is so rigged, no one knows how the judges are scoring. No transparency, just unorganised & based on favouritism & luck. WWE matches make more sense than this clownery they calling boxing rn! pic.twitter.com/qyra7K7qVV
— sohom (@AwaaraHoon) August 3, 2024
Nishant’s loss marked the fifth exit of an Indian boxer from the Paris Olympics. The only Indian boxer still in contention is Tokyo Olympics bronze winner Lovlina Borgohain, who is set to compete in the women’s 75kg quarterfinal on Sunday against Asian Games champion Li Qiang. Despite losing both previous bouts to Qiang, Lovlina had beaten her to win gold at the 2023 World Championships and is striving to become the first Indian boxer to win two Olympic medals.