Families of athletes miss action on TV as grids trip

“We had no power for over 10 hours on Tuesday,” said Rajesh,Manoj’s brother. “When the bout began at 2 am,our cousin who lives in Liverpool kept the entire village updated on scores after every round. When Manoj was declared winner,there was a huge roar in the night.”

Shillong-based twice national boxing champion Sushila Devi,whose brother L Devendro Singh scored a stunning knockout in the 49-kg category,said she was bitterly disappointed.

“We have been waiting for this day for so long. We did not know the result until late evening as even our phones had gone dead because of the prolonged blackout. Knockouts are rare but Devendro did it,I just hope we are able to see his second round,” Sushila told The Indian Express.

Sumit Sangwan’s family in Shekhupura Sohana village near Karnal missed out on the drama surrounding the boxer’s close and controversial defeat to Brazil’s Y F Florentino on Monday.

“We saw the first round but after that the inverter died. It was very frustrating,” Vinod Sangwan,Sumit’s uncle,said.

Satesh Chaudhary,mother of Meerut-based judoka Garima Chaudhary,said,“Even though Garima lost,we wanted to see her taking part in the Olympics.”