Brutal - that is the only word to describe Indian Olympian Satish Kumar’s Tokyo Olympics 2020 quarter-final bout against Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov, who is the reigning world champion in the men's superheavyweight category, ranked number 1 in the world according to the AIBA rankings released in 2020.

With a dominating 4-1 victory in the Round of 16, Kumar appeared to be yet another bright Indian prospect to compete for an Olympic medal. 

He may have even made it into the medal rounds had the world no. 1 didn’t come across him on Sunday.

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The face with which the 32-year-old had entered the ring and the face with which he walked out (barely) were very different from each other. 

Despite a gash on his face massive enough to become troublesome to just look at, the fact that the Indian pugilist, somehow, managed to stay on his feet for all five rounds in itself deserves all the respect in the world. 

But it was his message to his Indian fans with a gashed chin, a bloodied right cheekbone, and a swollen eye the size of a table tennis ball, that won the hearts across the boxing fraternity.

“ Pre quarterfinal मैच के बाद मेरे चेहरे पर 13 टाँके थे।पत्नी ने मना किया। पिता ने कहा अब बस कर।
कोई भी परिवार यही कहता ।पर मरता क्या ना करता ? लड़ना तो था ही और मैं लड़ा। हार के बावजूद इतने फ़ोन आए कि लगा कि चैम्पियन मैं बना।
मेरे बच्चों को गर्व है मुझ पर “

-सतीश कुमार
बॉक्सर pic.twitter.com/ptWeqLqe1C

— Vinod Kapri (@vinodkapri) August 1, 2021

“After the Pre-quarterfinal match, there were 13 stitches on my face. My wife asked me to pull out (of the fight), and father asked me to give up. Any other family would have also asked for the same. Par marta kya na karta? I had to fight and I fought. Despite losing, I got so many phone calls that I thought I became the champion. My kids are proud of me,” he said, according to Journalist Vinod Kapri’s tweet.

Fans from all over the country were overwhelmed by his efforts and did not hold back from acknowledging the courage and heart with which Kumar went down swinging.

Combat sports are always cruel, especially boxing.
It needs a very big heart n guts to get into games like boxing
Satish stayed there till last with his guts.
It's also a win.
Stay strong Satish

— Vijay Bisht (@VIJAY_7BISHT) August 1, 2021

Bhai Dil Jeet Liye....Gold to Koi Aur la dega...Magar Bhai Jo le ke Aaye...Junoon...Kabhi na Haarne ki zid...Woh Asaan nahin hota.... Well Done.... Superstar

— jr.talha (@jrtalha3) August 1, 2021

Proud of U.....Puraa Desh Aap k saath hai..Bhagwan Aap Ku Jald Swasth kare

— Nazrul (@Nazrul87209534) August 1, 2021

Bharat ko garv hain.

Kai baar ladne ki aag aur jeet ke jazbaat us medal wale podium se kaafi uche ho jaate hain.

Zindabad satish sahab.
Zindabad.

— Ayush (@ayush_txt) August 1, 2021

Jo ghutne na teke bo ya to kisaan ka bachha hoga ya humare army ka.
Ye he sateesh jo dono se sambandh rakhte he.
U won hearts.

— Anand (@anand98739395) August 1, 2021

Other than Kumar’s brilliant journey in Tokyo, the rest of the Indian boxing contingent failed to impress at the 2020 Olympics. 

No one else out of the five qualified boxers from the roster was able to make it through to the final eight contestants.

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