Beijing: It was a disappointing moment as Akhil Kumar, tagged as India’s hope for a second gold, lost to Moldova’s Veaceslav Gojan 3-10 and crashed out of the quarter-final of 54kg category in Beijing Olympics on Monday.
Even as he walked in with the patented smile on his face, Akhil Kumar must have known that a nation waited in anticipation.
Akhil had promised to go for gold and in the first two rounds there was little to separate the two boxers, with Akhil sticking to his tactic of inviting his opponent to have a go and the Moldovan not letting his guard down to let Akhil get the points.
The third round, however, proved to be the distinguisher, with the 25-year-old Moldovan suddenly starting to notch up the points. Akhil let his guard down and Gojan moved in, winning the round 4-0, and ultimately leading the bout 6-2 to enter the final round.
Akhil knew the final round was a case of all or nothing. He needed to attack to reduce the margin but the fleet-footed Moldovan outsmarted Akhil and danced around the ring, striking as soon as he saw an opening. The bout ended 10-3 in Moldovan’s favour.
As the referee raised his opponent's hand, a billion heads across the country dropped but Akhil's smile never left his lips. He knew his story had ignited the nation and that there was still hope for a medal in the ring.
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