L. Devendro Singh made a sensational debut in the Olympics, storming into the pre-quarterfinals of the men’s light flyweight category (49 kg) in just two minutes and 24 seconds at the ExCel Arena here on Tuesday.
Devendro stopped his opponent Bayron Molina Figueroa of Honduras with 36 seconds left in the opening round as the referee called off the contest.
The RSC verdict for Devendro helped him join teammates Vijender Singh and Jai Bhagwan in the pre-quarterfinals of the boxing competition.
The 20-year-old pocket-sized dynamo from Manipur meant business right from the beginning and started the bout aggressively against Figueroa.
Flurry of punches
Devendro displayed quicksilver footwork and stunned his opponent with a flurry of power-packed punches to dominate the contest right through.
The Indian knocked Figueroa down to the canvas with a powerful left hook that rattled his Honduran rival.
Thereafter, Devendro took control of the bout with some aggressive boxing, as he went hammer and tongs at his rival to force the referee to give his rival a standing 8-count twice in the opening round.
Figueroa failed to get his composure and footing back after the initial onslaught and the referee eventually stopped the bout with 36 seconds still remaining in the opening round.
Devendro’s domination could be gauged from the fact that he was leading 24-2 when the contest was stopped.
The Indian boxer will face Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia in the next round on Saturday.
Protest rejected
Meanwhile, India’s protest against the controversial opening-round loss of boxer Sumit Sangwan (81kg) on Monday was rejected by the jury that reviewed his bout against Brazilian Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino.
“The protest has been rejected.
“The reasons were not given to us but in cases like these, it is extremely rare that a protest is accepted and the decision overturned,” said coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.
Sumit lost 14-15 to Florentino in a closely-contested bout which left the Indian team and Sports Minister Ajay Maken enraged, prompting a quick protest.
Sangwan found himself on the wrong side of the judges’ scoring pattern as the boxer, despite dominating the second and third rounds, did not get enough points for his efforts.
“Sumit is fine now. Obviously, he was very upset with the result. But there is no other option but to accept things and move on,”said Sandhu.Indian Boxing Federation secretary-general and acting chef de mission Col. Muralidharan Raja said that the protest was specific to the scoring in the second round.
Specific to second round
“The protest was specific to round two. We thought Sangwan should have got more points in that round,” Col. Raja said.
