Deepak, Nishant lose closely-fought SF bouts to settle for bronze; knee injury forces Hussamuddin to concede his tie
For Deepak Bhoria and Nishant Dev, a final berth at the ongoing IBA Men's World Boxing Championship was right at their doorstep. It was time to take their history-making run one step further. The tournament had already given India a historic high after Deepak, Nishant and Mohammad Hussamuddin were assured of a bronze each after entering the semifinals.
But it was not to be. The difference between the final and the bronze was miniscule, especially for Deepak. Nishant was no pushover either. Both boxers fought till the end, not giving up at any juncture. They showed nerves of steel, and yet came second on the day.
On another day, they might have gotten the better of their opponents. Deepak was tenacious in his 51kg semifinal bout against two-time world championships bronze medallist Billal Bennama of France. The 25-year-old was indefatigable and resolute throughout the bout, never letting Bennama run the show. Both Deepak and Bennama were cautious initially, gauging each other before plunging into the battle. It was a left jab from Bennama that started the joust.
Deepak fought back and cornered his French opponent, also landing a few combination punches. But Bennama managed to conjure some scoring punches towards the end of the first round to take it by a narrow 3-2 margin.
Bennama was the aggressor in the second round as he moved around the ring and landed a couple of scoring jabs as soon as Deepak's guard was down. But Deepak showed immense resilience to fight back. The Indian found a way to breach the Frenchman's defences and land some eye-catching right crosses.
The final three minutes were intensely fought by both the boxers. Deepak, in fact, threw a set of combination punches that caught Bennama off-guard and the Frenchman nearly fell in the ring. Bennama was given a 'standing count' by the referee and at this point it seemed the Indian had managed to get the tie in his favour.
But the Frenchman fought back with a spree of left jabs in the final 46 seconds. Both boxers thought they had won, and were ready to celebrate. But the judges decided to go for a 'bout review', and the ruling went in favour of Bennama as the Indian lost 3-4.
Just like the Deepak-Bennama bout, Nishant's semifinal against 2022 Asian champion and 2018 Asian Games silver medallist Aslanbek Shymbergenov of Kazakhstan also went to a 'bout review'. The Indian had to endure a 2-5 loss as Shymbergenov advanced to the final.
Throughout the bout, there was very little separating Nishant and Shymbergenov. The 22-year-old Indian, who is a 'southpaw' in his fighting style, did well to throw several left crosses, jabs and hooks - especially in the third round - but the inaccuracy of those punches helped the Kazakh edge past him. Although Nishant was at his aggressive best in the final round, Shymbergenov had already built a decent enough lead in the first two rounds.
Hussamuddin pulls out
Mohammad Hussamudin had to pull out from his semifinal encounter against Cuba's Saidel Horta due to a knee injury. He had pain and swelling and had to settle for bronze.
