Nursing an eye injury with stitches, boxer Satish Kumar showcases heroism at Tokyo Olympics

Despite getting seven stitches on a cut above his right eye and chin sustained during his opening bout against Jamaica's Ricardo Brown, Satish returned to action and displayed his unflinching sporting spirit,

Though Satish suffered a 0-5 unanimous decision defeat against the Uzbek to get knocked out, he went inside the ring of the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, pretty much aware of the risk of further opening his wound and aggravating the injury against his opponent, who is in an ominous form.

The 6-feet 7-inch Jalolov hit Satish with his combination of punches while he tried to keep his guard, protecting his injury from splitting open again. The 32-year-old boxer from Bulandshahr was medically cleared for the bout just three hours before the quarterfinals. Satish was slow and defensive in his stances from the very beginning of the bout. But at times, his sudden rush of attacks was making things difficult for the reigning Uzbek.

Satish, also a 2018 Commonwealth Games silver-medallist, tried to connect one punch that could unsettle the Uzbek but failed miserably, owing to his inability to move quickly.

It was learned from a TOI report that although Satish was offered prompt on-ground medical attention during his first match by high-performance director Santiago Nieva and chief national coach CA Kuttappa. But there was no Indian team doctor inside the arena to attend to the injury.

Incidentally, Satish was also the only Indian male boxer who progressed on his first bout when favourites like Amit Panghal crumbled under pressure in his first Olympics bout.

Satish showed immense perseverance in his journey to Tokyo Olympics. Having missed out on crucial training time after being tested positive for coronavirus earlier this year, Satish got back his mojo post a two-month recovery phase. The exposure trip in Assisi, Italy, was a major booster of his confidence.

With Satish's departure, the lone Indian boxer to be in the fray is Lovlina Borgohain, who is already assured of a medal post her quarterfinal win against Chinese Taipei's Chen Nien-chin. In an otherwise dull outing of the Indian boxers, Satish Kumar's bravado remains a bright spot in the camp.