New Delhi, June 5 (IANS): Young Indian boxer Nishant Dev, who recently qualified for the Paris Olympics, believes his skills and usage of strength at the right time will play a major role when he takes on the ring at the 2024 Games. Nishant booked his spot at the Paris Olympics after beating Moldova’s Vasile Cebotari 5-0 in the men’s 71kg quarterfinals at the World Boxing Qualifiers in Bangkok.

Speaking about his training regime, he said that with just over a month left for the Olympics to begin, he will first go with “hard work” and then “smart work” highlighting the importance of rest before any major tournament.

Answering a query by IANS, the Indian boxer said, “Hard work and smart work, that is my way of training. Firstly, I will focus on hard work, train harder, and keep improving my strengths and then smart work, give my body proper rest, and keep it hydrated before the Olympics.”

Asked about his strength, whether it is speed or power. He replied, “I have a God gift of everything. I have power, speed, and timing. But the main thing is power, but I don't use it unnecessarily. ‘Pagalo ki tarah nahi bas marate raho aankhe band kar ke’ (Not like hitting an opponent blindfolded and getting tired). I use it when needed. Skills are actually more important when you enter the ring.

“Like this time (during Olympic qualifiers), I was going for body shots, body punches. Because body punches are painful and can make the opponent breathless," he said.

The 23-year-old Nishant is a World Championships bronze medallist from the 2023 edition of the event held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

When he was a kid, Nishant dislocated his right shoulder in 2010 after falling down the stairs. This old injury came back to haunt him at the beginning of 2022 as the rod that was put in his shoulder in 2010 got infected. He then underwent another surgery and was in rehab for most of the year.

He made a strong comeback to retain his title at the National Boxing Championships in Hisar in January 2023.