Paris [France], August 6 : Indian boxer Nishant Dev, who crashed out in the quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics, said that he had the potential and confidence to win the gold medal and raised doubts over the quality of the decision-making in his bout against his Mexican opponent.
In his quarterfinal bout of the men's 71kg boxing, Nishant faced Mexico's Marco Verde and lost the match 1-4. Nishant appeared dominant in the first two rounds.
The 23-year-old wrapped up the first round in his favour. In the next two rounds, Verde was declared the winner by the judges.
Nishant said that he viewed himself as a potential gold medalist and had defeated the Mexican opponent earlier.
Nishant urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take note of the " poor judging decisions" and take appropriate action.
"...India did not lose a bronze but a gold medal. I was viewing myself as a gold medallist because I had defeated him earlier too and I defeated him in this particular fight too. But the judges had a different point of view. I was not at all happy with their decision. I have nothing to say, all my hard work over the last 15 years...I saw disappointment. This should not happen to any athlete in the next Olympics...IOC should take note of poor judging decisions and take some action.," Nishant told ANI.
Nishant led the first round and Verde was deemed victorious by the five judges in the next two rounds.
The Indian boxer continued with the intensity and jabbed straight, and Verde failed to cover up in the second round. The fixture started to turn around after Verde exerted pressure on Nishant. The second round ended in a split decision favouring Verde 3-2.
In the third round, Verde was appointed five points by all the judges.
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