"14 years of hard work paid off," says Nishant Dev after winning bronze medal in Men's World Boxing Championships 2023
May 16, 2023
By Vivek Prabhakar Singh
New Delhi [India], May 16 : The 22-year-old Indian boxer Nishant Dev who clinched a bronze medal in IBA Men's World Boxing Championships 2023 in Tashkent, expressed his desire to achieve more success in the upcoming tournament.
Nishant's hard work of the past 14 years finally paid off as he (71kg) endured difficult challenges throughout the tournament. His campaign finally came to an end in a fiercely contested 2-5 loss after his bout was reviewed against the reigning Asian champion Aslanbek Shymbergenov of Kazakhstan in the IBA Men's World Boxing Championships 2023 which was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last month.
Nishant showcased a dynamic and aggressive approach throughout the bout but failed to defeat the Kazakh despite his best efforts.
While speaking to ANI, Nishant asserted that he will be looking for gold, the next time he features in a competition.
"I am happy to win a medal. It has paid off for my 14 years of hard work. This is the first time I have won an international medal. I never gave up whenever I trained and I am happy that I have won a bronze medal in a major competition I would now want to change the colour of my medal in the upcoming Asian Games and win a gold."
"It was a proud moment for me to win a medal in such a big tournament and stand on the podium. This is a proud moment for me."
Nishant is looking to work in the areas which will help him improve ahead of the upcoming Asian Games which will be held from September 23 to October 8, 2023, Hangzhou in China.
"I was expecting myself to win gold only. I thought that I will be a champion. The Uzbekistan boxer who reached the final. I trained with him in camp and I did not find him extraordinary. I lost 3-2 to Kazakhstan boxer and he was defeated by Uzbekistan boxer 5-0. So, I will work on these things in the coming months of training. The boxers I lost to will come in Asian Games and I would not like to do anything which will make me regret later."
"I would like to fully dedicate myself into training. This is the year I have to earn a place in the Olympics. In coming months I would like to train better and win gold in Asian Games and earn a spot in the Olympics."
