"I have power, speed and timing" - Boxer Nishant Dev confident of his abilities after earning place in Paris 2024 Olympics
Boxer Nishant Dev is confident of his skills to deliver a strong showing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 23-year-old became the first Indian male pugilist to qualify for the mega event last week. He beat Moldova’s Vasile Cebotari in a unanimous 5-0 decision in the men’s 71 kg category quarterfinal at the World Boxing Qualifiers in Bangkok.
Dev had earlier missed out on qualification after losing to USA's Omari Jones by a 4-1 split verdict in the quarter-finals of the men’s 71 kg weight event in Busto Arsizio, Italy, in March.
According to Nishant Dev, he has all the key qualities, but is working on his skills to counter the threat of opposition boxers.
“I am god-gifted, I have everything in me,” Dev was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
"I have power, speed and timing. But the main (thing) is skills. If you have that, you can win against any boxer,” he added.
"I didn’t have the body language" - Nishant Dev on his missed opportunity in March
Nishant Dev took note of low stamina and weak endurance in the third round during his loss against Omari Jones at Busta Arsizio. Although both boxers went toe-to-toe in the first two rounds, Jones prevailed over Dev to secure a victory.
As per Dev, talent is not enough to succeed, a proper strategy and hard work is required to prevail over any boxer. Moreover, the youngster thinks a pugilist should apply his mind to outsmart his opponents in crunch moments.
“(There were) shortcomings that I had, like low stamina in the third round, my body balance and also the fact that my body function had become a little weak. I didn’t have the body language that one should have in round three. I worked on all of this,” Dev added.
Certainly, Dev learned from his setback to make a turnaround and qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Nikhat Zareen, Preeti Pawar, Jaismine Lamboriya, and Lovlina Borgohain are the four female boxers, while Dev and Amit Panghal are the two male boxers, who will represent India in the Paris Olympics.