"Went through a lot of mental torment" - Nishant Dev admits to mental trauma post controversial Olympic qualifier snub

Controversies, setbacks, disappointment, redemption. This rollercoaster of emotions are part and parcel of the gritty world of competitive sports.

Nishant Dev experienced all this and more during a period of just over a month in his quest to win a quota place for India in the men's boxing competition at the Paris Olympics.

Up against World Championships silver medalist Omari Jones of the US in the quarterfinals of the men's 71 kilogram category at the Olympic qualifier in Italy in March this year, Nishant suffered a heartbreaking loss after a tough fight.

Trailing the more experienced American boxer after the opening round, Nishant went toe to toe with his opponent for the rest of the fight.

He managed to draw level after the second round before going down by a narrow margin.

"That was a big disappointment. The first round was a bit slow. I put in a lot of effort in the second round, which I won and in the third round as well. I did not realize it in the ring, but the disappointment hit me after I had returned to the dressing room when I that I had lost an Olympic quota," Nishant told a press conference of invited reporters organized by SAI in collaboration with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Boxing Federation of India (BFI).

"I was absolutely sure that I had won the third round. But the judges' decision went against me. Mentally, I was under a lot of pressure after that defeat because I had only one chance left to qualify for the Olympics. I was quite disturbed and went through a lot of mental torment over the next few days," he added.

"Took the defeat as a source of motivation" - Nishant Dev on how he bounced back

Despite the setback, the 23-year-old from Haryana used the disappointment from the narrow defeat and the extra pressure to psyche himself up for the Thailand qualifier.

"I had only one chance left to qualify and very little time to prepare. So I was under a lot of pressure before the Thailand tournament. But I took the defeat as a source of motivation and worked hard to prepare for the Thailand qualifier," Nishant said.

Now left with a little over a month to prepare for the first Olympics of his career, the young boxer from Karnal will need all the motivation and determination he can muster to keep the Tricolour flying high.