Boxer Satish’s gutsy effort not enough

Taking the ring with multiple stitches on his forehead and chin after sustaining cuts in the pre-quarters, Satish lost 0-5 but the scoreline was not reflective of his brave performance. The 32-year-old Army man stood his ground in the biggest bout of his career and occasionally managed to land a shot with his right hand. But, Jalolov dominated the proceedings all through, relying on his imposing demeanour and excellent counter-attacking game to sail through. However, what stood out was Satish’s resolve to fight it out. 

The former kabaddi player did not hesitate to launch attacks despite the risk of his cuts opening up. Satish’s forehead cut did open up eventually during the third round, but he fought through. 

With Satish’s defeat, the Indian men’s boxing campaign at the Tokyo Games came to an end. Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) remains the lone pugilist in the fray, having made the semi-finals to secure India’s first and only boxing medal of the ongoing edition. 

Result: Men’s +91kg: Quarter-finals: Satish Kumar lost to Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan 0-5 

‘Content that I gave my best’ 

It is rare for a sportsperson to find the biggest moment of his career in defeat. Satish Kumar is living that after turning up against a world champion with 13 stitches on his face. “My phone hasn’t stopped ringing. People are congratulating me as if I won. I am on medication right now and I know how badly bruised my face is,” said Satish after his Round-of-16 bout. 

“My chin has seven stitches and my forehead has six. I knew that I wanted to fight. Otherwise, I would have lived with that regret of ‘what if?’. Now, I can be at peace and be probably a little content with myself that I gave my best,” said Satish.