Pulling Punches

Right after he had destroyed his Uzbek rival, drawing his breath still in gasps, blood on his chin and body glistening in sweat, Jitender Kumar said: "I hope I'll do well and win a medal, and I hope that you will support us and boxing will be as popular as cricket."

It's not just the Indian media that's fixated with cricket – it's clear that other sportspersons also think of it more than a bit, and wonder at the contrast in the fortunes of the practitioners of cricket and what we dismissively class as "other sports".

We, the mediapersons in the stands, had been drawn deep into the pre-quarterfinal contest by allegiance of flag and an older, primal instinct that's roused by a physical fight. Only in sport is it legitimate to beat someone blue and black, draw blood and even crunch bones. Thus, watching the tiny Jitender – 51 kgs, most of it muscle – fight, we'd been induced into shrieking hoarsely, giving advice he was certain to not hear.

Jitender put up a stunning display against Tulashboy Doniyorov; the Ukraine boxer, a southpaw, was undone by a masterful show of hit-and-run pugilism byJitender.

Jitender, "almost brother" to the celebrated Akhil Kumar, built up a 4-1 lead after the first round with effective body blows. The two boxers were cagey in the second round; Jitender's three-point lead gave him the knowledge that the Uzbek must manufacture the points. Doniyorov was fearful that if got outpunched again, he would not be able to catch Jitender in the final two rounds. Both were circumspect, only one point was scored, and Jitender led 5-1 after second round.

That simplified matters. With everything to win, the Uzbek needed either a shower of points or a knockout in the last two rounds, Jitender needed to guard the lead. It was clear that something must give, but nothing gave. The race was never really on.

The Uzbek occupied the centre, the Indian danced around him, evading assaults. It began to look more like wrestling than fighting – along with cheers, laughs began to rise from the stands. Many times, launching himself bodily into attack in his quest for the haymaker, the Uzbek found himself on his knees as Jitender side-stepped

The Uzbek ran Jitender to the ground several times and received warnings and, finally, was penalised with two points to Jitender. In the four-round bout, Doniyorov dominated the contest for around 10 seconds, late in the third round, earning two points with desperate, furious fist-work.

Jitender easily weathered the storm in the last round – the victory proved simpler than it seemed possible before the bout. Jitender stayed clear of his southpaw adversary's left, stepping in to jab and back off, gave only two points away with a rules violation, and won the bout 11-6.

Jitender now faces Georgy Balakshin of Russia, the 2006 European champion and a World Championships semifinalist, in the quarterfinals. Jitender has lost to Balakshin in the past, but it'll be a fifty-fifty situation.

India now has two boxers in the quarterfinals – Jitender's poignant plea for recognition is extremely valid.