Olympics-bound Indian boxer Devendro Singh had to settle for the silver medal after losing in the final to Cuba's Yosvany Veita at the International Republic of Kazakhstan President's Cup in Almaty, on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Indian boxer went down 11-15 to Veita.
Earlier, Devendro had triumphed over his more experienced opponent -- Olympian and Asian Games silver medallist Birzhan Zakipov of Kazakhstan -- in an enthralling contest to make it to the final round.
Devendro, who beat Russian boxer Egorov Vasily in the quarters, made a strong start and set the pace of the bout with his fluent ring movement.
He was leading 3-2 after the opening three minutes of play and continued to add to his tally with some precise attacking in the second.
Zakipov though, kept coming back at Devendro with his counter-offence and was close on heels, trailing by just two points (11:-).
In the final round, the Kazakh boxer tried hard to take the game away from the Indian, but Devendro was solid in his defence. He lost the round but managed to win the bout on countback after the scores were level at 16-16.
"My opponent was a very experienced boxer and fought with very sound technique and strategy, it was a tough fight and I am very happy to have returned on the winning side of it," Devendro said.
He will be looking to secure his first gold medal on the senior tour when he takes on in the summit clash.
Photograph courtesy: Hari Shankar Varma (physiotherapist -- Indian men's boxing team)
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