2012 London Olympics: Indian Boxer Jai Bhagwan Advances

by Gautham Nagesh

Indian lightweight Jai Bhagwan looked cool and composed during his classy 18-8 win over Andrique Allisop of Seychelles in the first round of the London 2012 Olympic boxing tournament.

Long and lean, Bhagwan, 27, showed his experience by maintaining distance and boxing from the outside the for most of the fight. He usually comes in behind his jab, throws a quick two or three-punch combination and then covers up and gets out. Very solid.[[MORE]]

Allisop was much shorter, and not even close to as sharp technically. Bhagwan began dropping his right hand over the top in the second round, and landing it to good effect. He doesn’t seem to be a devastating puncher,  but he has good enough timing to land his long shots from the outside. Bhagwan almost always follows his jab-straight right with a left hook, with is a good-looking punch in its own right. Those are the kind of blows that impress Olympic judges.

Bhagwan could make some noise if he can can stand toe to toe with some of the division’s better punchers. The 27-year-old has the amateur style down pat, except for his tendency to cover up at times. He also has some defensive lapses that could cost him against the top fighters. If he avoids some of the bigger names, Jai’s got a good chance of advancing to the medal rounds.