Nishant Dev finally achieves boxing quota at Paris Olympics: Following his tight loss against American boxer Omari Jones in the first World Olympic Qualifier in Italy earlier this year, Nishant Dev, 23, of India, who had won the bronze in the 2023 World Championship, had a lengthy conversation with his father, Pawan Dev. It was about putting his training schedule for the following two months in order and finding the good things that came out of the setback.
The plan came together perfectly for the lanky boxer on Friday afternoon as he sealed India’s fourth and the men’s boxing team’s first Paris Olympics quota with a unanimous 5:0 victory over Vasile Cebotari of Moldova in the World Olympic qualification in Thailand.
“Nishant believed he had defeated Omari Jones in a split decision, which would have relieved him of the burden of meeting his Paris Olympics quota in March. However, the fight ended in a 1:4 loss. However, he made it quite evident that he needed to return, and he did so at this place. Speaking to The Indian Express from Bangkok, Thailand, Pawan said, “Bachpan se hi ziddi hai, toh quota toh aana hi tha (He is stubborn since his childhood, so the quota had to come).”
Nishant used to spend his childhood in Karnal riding his bike and playing in the streets of Kot Mohalla. When he was younger, he would also practice skating in their home. Nishant, a skater at the school national level, first saw a boxing equipment when his maternal uncle Karambir Singh paid him a visit. The boy developed a fascination for boxing from Singh, who started boxing professionally in Germany, before Nishant witnessed Karnal boxer Manoj Kumar win the 2010 Commonwealth championship. 2012 is the year he took boxing seriously.
Under the guidance of his coach Surendra Chauhan, who was present in Bangkok on Friday, Nishant’s boxing ambitions flourished. Chauhan was always quite tall for his age and was pleased with Nishant’s fast thinking. For the following five years, Nishant would compete at the sub-junior and junior levels, and Chauhan would make sure the southpaw boxer knew what it meant to be a southpaw. Despite the fact that he wasn’t born boxer, he had an excellent mentality. He realized that his strength is a keen jab, which also helps him in closing positions. When necessary, he would also utilize the left hook and cross, and he still does.
We also practiced his straight punches since they function well against both orthodox and other southpaw opponents. He would always call and talk about these things when he moved to IIS (Inspire Institute of Sport) and then national camps, according to Chauhan.
Nishant was selected by IIS in 2017 and had been practicing under coach Ronald Simms, but it wasn’t until 2019 that Santiago Nieva, an Indian foreign high-performance director at the time, became aware of his skill. He returned with a quarterfinal finish in the 2021 World Championships in Serbia, after winning the championship in the 2021 nationals and taking home a silver medal in the nationals that same year. He would defeat two-time Olympian Merven Clair of Mauritius, Mexico’s Marco Alvarez, and Hungary’s Laszlo Kozak before falling to Vadim Musaev in the quarterfinals.
Though Nishan did not place first in the 2019 nationals, I was really impressed with how well-aware he was of his strengths. He had a terrific boxing head, but he was a little raw. Nishant has good command of how to exploit distance to his advantage in 71 Kg since his early days in the training. We had to concentrate on his speed and ferocity since he was what I refer to as a hot puncher. Additionally, we were able to teach him how to use the long range and create a very solid hook for him. His right hook was quite powerful, which allowed him to create a lot of angles. I can still well recall one of his quarterfinal fights versus Alvarez.
Even though Nishant had previously sustained a nose injury, Nieva—who is currently the head coach of Boxing Australia—recalls that Nishant startled the Mexican with a series of fast, straight, and precise punches.
Nishant’s shoulder problem resurfaced after the world championships, and he underwent surgery in March 2022. In January 2023, the Haryana boxer won his second national title in Hisar after nearly seven months of recuperation. He was frustrated, just like any other boxer, but we would distract him by talking about other topics and life in general. Our goal was to restore full strength to his right shoulder after his recovery. Coach Chauhan states, “His father would also talk to him for hours on end to keep him motivated.”
Nearly 14 months following his surgery, Nishant advanced to the semi-finals of the World Championships in Tashkent, where he would earn the biggest medal of his career. He defeated Cuba’s Jorge Cuellar 5 to 0 in the quarterfinals, but on a score recount, he was defeated by Aslanbek Shymbergenov, the eventual winner of Kazakhstan and the Asian champion. He had also triumphed over Azerbaijan’s Sarkhan Aliyev, the 2021 world bronze medallist.
Nishant has always naturally had strength in his lower body. We worked on his lower body strength even though he had a shoulder problem. And when Nishant used his quickness against someone like Cuellar, it was helpful. We constantly forcing him to practice the long jump, and his standing jump is also quite high,” adds Chauhan.
Nishant would spend the next two months training for the Olympics in Paris with the goal of becoming the first Indian man to win a medal in men’s boxing since Vijender Singh in 2008.
