Another Indian hope goes down the drain

Sydney: Olympic debutant Indian puglist S Suresh Singh went down in the first round of the 48 kg category but not before putting up a good fight against a technically superior Korean opponent Kim Ki Suk at the Exhibition Hall on Sunday.

After keeping pace with his Korean opponent for the first two rounds, Suresh slowed down in the third. Far outscored by then, even a fight back in the fourth could not help him get back into contention. The 19-year-old Indian lost 5-9 on points at the end of the four-round bout.

The Indian matched the Korean blow for blow in the first (2-2) and second rounds (3-3). But in the third round Kim, turned the heat on Suresh, who melted into the background. The Korean was credited with five points and Suresh none.

In the fourth and final round, Suresh fought back hard and tried to narrow the gap, but Kim was far ahead. Suresh won the round 2-1 but the bout was lost (9-5).

Indian Amateur Boxing Federation Ashok Kumar Mattoo said, ''it is surprising that suddenly a boxer should get so many points in a single round. That made the difference. Otherwise Suresh fought well.''

The Manipur Sports minister had visited Suresh on Saturday and given him and three other Manipuri sportspersons Rs two lakh each for making it to the Olympics and promised more if they won medals at the Games.

India have three other boxers in the fray. While Jitender Kumar goes into the ring on Monday, Gurchran Singh and Dingko Singh will follow suit in the next few days.

UNI