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Indian boxers were expected to secure multiple medals at the Olympics 2021. With 2012 bronze medalist Mary Kom and several other top-ranked pugilists in the fray, it seemed only a question of who could go all the way to win the country's first gold in the sport.
However, the contingent turned out to be one of the biggest washouts of the Olympics. Though the squad of nine included some of the world's top boxers, only Lovlina Borgohain came back with a medal. Her unexpected bronze was the saving grace in an otherwise dismal showing by the team.
Here is a roundup of how the nine boxers performed at the Olympics.
Indian boxers' performances at the 2021 Olympics
Lovlina Borgohain: Borgohain bagged a bronze medal from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics after losing her semi-final bout against Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey via unanimous decision.
Borgohain started in fabulous fashion, defeating Germany's Nadine Apetz by a split decision (3-2) in the round of 16 after receiving a bye in the first round. She dominated China's Chen Nien-chen 4-1 in the quarters to proceed to the semifinals, before losing to Surmeneli.
Mary Kom: London 2012 gold medallist MC Mary Kom's exit from the Tokyo Games was a peculiar one.
In the round of 32, Mary defeated Dominican Republic's Miguelina Hernandez in a split decision by 4-1, only to crash out in the round of 16 against USA's Ingrit Valencia.
Mary trailed 4-1 in the opening round with four of the five judges scoring it 10-9 in favor of Valencia. In the next two rounds, three judges scored in Mary's favor but Valencia still led the overall scoreline.
She needed a 4-1 in the final round to swing the score, but managed only a 3-2.
Mary's loss was one of the biggest upsets in the squad. Later, she told the press:
"I had beaten this girl twice in the past. I couldn't believe that her hand was raised by the referee. I swear, it hadn't struck me that I lost. I was so sure.”
In another strange event, Mary was also asked to change her jersey at the last minute before her quarterfinal against the American.
Amit Panghal: World No.1 Amit Panghal marched into the Tokyo Olympics as a medal favorite in the flyweight division. What awaited him, however, was the most disastrous outing of his life.
In a major upset for the Indian contingent, Colombian boxer Yuberjen Herney Martinez Rivas outhussled Panghal in his maiden Olympic bout.
At one point, Martinez pinned him down on his knees. The Colombian dominated the last two rounds, leaving a worn-out Pangal with no chance of a comeback. Martinez's ruthless gameplay and merciless punches startled Panghal's movement. The 25-year-old was exasperated by the end of the second round.
Pooja Rani: Pooja Rani received a bye in the first round and later crushed Algerian boxer Ichrak Chaib in a unanimous 5-0 decision in the 75kg pre-quarterfinal bout. In the quarters, she was up against world no.4 Li Qian, the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist.
Pooja was just one step away from assuring India a medal but went down 0-5 against Li's dominant display.
Satish Kumar: Satish Kumar had the perfect debut at the Olympics with a dominant 4-1 win against Jamaica’s Ricardo Brown in the pre-quarters. However, he sustained severe cuts and was in doubt for his quarterfinal bout at one point.
After being given the green signal, he stepped into the ring to face the world's best boxer, the ferocious Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan. Bleeding and nursing an injury throughout the match, Satish kept going, but could only do so much before losing.
Jalolov had some words of encouragement for his opponent. He tweeted:
“You are a true warrior Satish Kumar. Get well soon brother.”
Simranjit Kaur: Simranjit Kaur would not be happy with the way she began her Olympic campaign. She made a first-round exit after losing to Thailand's Sudaporn Seesondee 5:0 in a unanimious decision.
Vikas Krishan: Vikas' medalless run at the Olympics continues. The veteran suffered an awful loss at the hands of local favorite Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa 0-5 in the round of 32. After his defeat, it was announced that Vikas competed with a shoulder niggle.
Manish Kaushik: Manish was knocked out of the men's lightweight (57-63 kg) category after losing to Great Britain's Luke McCormack 4-1 in the round of 32. Scores were level after the first two rounds of the bout, with both boxers winning one each by 3-2. However, McCormack was slightly better in the decider, marking the end of Manish's Olympic journey.
Ashish Kumar: India’s Ashish Kumar was totally outweighed by Chinese boxer Tuoheta Erbieke in their round of 32 bout. Ashish lost 5-0.
Despite their disappointing run at the Olympics, the Indian boxers will continue to learn from their mistakes and look to better their performance at Paris 2024. Unfortunately, veteran MC Mary Kom might decide to call it quits before that, after a magnificent career that includes a bronze from London 2012. The younger generation will have to step in soon to fill the vacuum.
Also read: India in Tokyo Olympics 2021 India Schedule
