Rio 2016: Vikas Krishan Crashes Out in Quarter-Final, No More Indian Boxers Left

Vikas Krishan's Rio Olympics campaign came to an end on Tuesday as he lost to Uzbekistan's Bektemir Melikuziev in the men's 75 kg quarter-final. After his exit no more Indian boxers are left in the fray.

With Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Manoj Kumar (64kg) already out of contention, Vikas' loss meant that the boxers too have failed to bring home a medal from Rio.

A win would have assured Vikas of a medal but it was not to be as he was dominated throughout the match by his younger Uzbek opponent.

Vijender Singh (75kg) thus remains the first and only Indian male boxer to have secured an Olympic medal (a bronze in 2008 Beijing Games). MC Mary Kom had won a bronze medal in 2012 Rio Olympics.

Vikas outplayed

In the quarterfinal contest, the seventh-seeded Vikas was simply no match for the world No.3, a World Championships silver-medallist and the reigning Asian champion, a title he won after beating Vikas in the final last year.

The overtly cautious Indian hesitated in opening an attack for most part of the first round while Melikuziev scored at will with his lethal left hand.

The second round was even worse for the Indian as Melikuziev gained firm control of the bout, also using his right jab to good effect.

In fact, one such blow led to Vikas spitting his gum-shield out and even before he could recover, a left hook from Melikuziev had left him dazed.

Such was the power and precision of Melikuziev's hitting, that two of the judges ruled 10-8 in his favour in the second round.

Vikas, a former World Championships bronze-medallist, completely lost the plot in the final three minutes, struggling to keep his balance after the pounding he took in the first two rounds.

In the end it was a stroll for the 20-year-old Melikuziev, who was hitting at will against a near stationary Vikas.