Indian pugilist Sumit Sangwan was a bit unlucky to crash out of the London Olympic Games after a heart-wrenching opening-round loss to Yamaguchi Falcao Florentino of Brazil in the men’s light heavyweight category in London on Monday.
Sangwan clearly 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, eventually losing the bout 14-15 against the Brazilian.
After a slow start, the 19-year-old Indian gathered his composure and was clearly the better boxer on display in the second and third rounds.
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Trailing 4-5 in the opening round, the lanky Sangwan used his reach to good effect in the next, preferring to play a waiting game, and he did not commit himself too much.
The strategy worked wonders for Sangwan as he completely controlled proceedings in the second round with a combination of left and right punches. But to the astonishment of the crowd present at the Excel centre, the judges thought otherwise and again awarded the round 5-4 in favour of the Brazilian.
Coming into the decider after trailing by two points, Sangwan did not lose his focus and continued his domination over Yamaguchi with some powerful straight punches. But again the judges seemed to have gone against him.
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Even though Sangwan pocketed the third round 6-5, it was heartbreak for the Indian, and just one point separated his entry into the next round.
India had already lodged a protest over the controversial decision that robbed Sangwan of a deserving victory, according to Sports Minister Ajay Maken.