TIL Desk Sports/ India’s challenge in the boxing ring came to an end with Vikas Krishan Yadav going down 0-3 to Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals of the men’s Middleweight (75kg) category at the Rio Olympics here. Vikas put up a strong challenge in the opening round before crashing out 27-30, 26-30, 26-30 against the silver medallist of the 2015 World Championships at the Riocentro Pavilion 6 on Monday.
Both boxers were a bit cagey in the opening exchanges with Uzbek using his height to land long range punches. The shorter Vikas was forced to keep his guard up and come into the Uzbek. The tempo picked up as the first round wore on and an aggressive Vikas attempted to dominate the Uzbek with powerful body shots and jabs to the face.
The judges ruled 9-10, 9-10, 9-10 against Vikas after the opening round which seemed to affect his focus in the next two rounds. Bektimir dominated the second round to win take a 20-17 lead in all three judges cards. Vikas tried to be more aggressive in the third and final round, but the 20-year-old Uzbek held him off to take a well-deserved victory. “I thought that on August 15 I would present a medal to my people in India but I could not do it,” Vikas lamented after his bout.
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