Indian pugilists created a lot of hype by making into the semifinals of the Boxing World Cup but failed to deliver the killer punch when it mattered most.
All four pugilists, who fought in semifinals at the World Cup, settle for bronze
MUMBAI: Indian pugilists created a lot of hype by making into the semifinals of the Boxing World Cup but failed to deliver the killer punch when it mattered most. All four lost their bouts on Saturday and settled for bronze medals.
Akhil Kumar has promised so much with his innovative style, but like in Beijing — where he had lost in the quarters after creating lot of buzz with his guard-down technique — once again fell short of expectations. The bantamweight boxer was a favourite among the Indian boxers. But that was not to be as he went down fighting Olympic silver medallist Yankiel Leon Alarcon of Cuba.
Akhil, however, came agonisingly close to making into the final. But he lost on a count-back against his Cuban opponent. The scores were tied 4-4 after the regulation three rounds. “I don’t know the exact number of punchers we both landed but I did come to know the difference was not more than two-three punches on the count-back, which gave Cuban the victory,” Akhil told DNA after his bout. Understandably he was disappointed. “I could have pushed myself a bit more. I’m not happy with the outcome, but the disappointment of not going further will only push me to work harder. Anyway, something is better than nothing,” the 27-year-old said.
But he was happy for the fact that he was able stand his ground against the Cuban, who has a great pedigree in amateur boxing. “Previously Indian boxers were frightened to face the Cuban. But now we are becoming more confident and it showed in the close match I had,” quipped Akhil.
Compatriot Jitender Kumar too got off to a blazing start, leading 4-2 in the first round, but lost his composure thereafter going down 6-14 to Hernandez Laffita, who is also a Olympic silver medallist in flyweight category.
The youngest among the Indians taking part, who surprised everyone with his quarterfinals appearance in Beijing, is one for the future. But he will have to work on his concentration if he has to progress further. And his lack of it did reflect during his semifinals against Laffita as he squandered a good opportunity he created for himself in the first round. The 20-year-old admitted that he threw away the advantage. “I got over excited after taking the lead. It cost me dearly,” said Jitender.
The third boxer in fray, AL Lakra, put up a brave fight against Cuban Idel Torriente but eventually lost 3-6 to settle for the bronze.
In the light heavyweight category Dinesh Kumar was knocked out in the second round by his Russian opponent Artur Beterbiev.
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