Almaty (Kazakhstan): India's Olympic-bound boxer L Devendro Singh (49kg) lost the title clash to Cuban boxer Yosvany Veitia and settled for the silver medal in the President's Cup.
The 20-year-old Indian came close to claiming his first gold medal on the senior tour but went down 11-15 during Sunday's final against the Cuban, who had won the bronze medal at the 2010 Youth World Boxing Championships
Devendro started well keeping pace with his Cuban opponent. After the first three minutes of play, the scores were levelled at 4-4. But with the beginning of the second round, Veitia, with his sound defence and precise combinations took the game away from the Indian boxer.
Devendro attacked vigorously in the final round but could not penetrate Veitia's guard as much as he would have liked. In the end, he lost the bout on points 11:15.
"It was a difficult bout and the Cuban had a sound technique, I tried hard to get inside and fight but did not get many chances to score. Nonetheless I am happy with my performance; this tour has been a big learning curve for me and it will help a great deal in my preparations for the Olympics," said Devendro after his bout.
National coach G.S. Sandhu said the experience will stand in good stead for Devendro.
"Devendro did well to reach the finals of the tournament. He beat some good and experienced boxers along the way. It is the experience and learning from tours like these that is important to us. Winning medals is an added incentive and motivation, it always helps," he said.
Earlier in the tournament, Asian Games silver medallist Manpreet Singh (91kg) and debutant Kanwar Preet Singh (+91kg) had to settle for a bronze medal after losing out in the semi-finals of their respective weight categories. (IANS)
