Rio Olympics: Vikas Krishan Beats Charles Conwell to Reach Round of 16

Boxer Vikas Krishan progressed to the Round of 16 in the 75kg middleweight category with a convincing win over American Charles Conwell at the Rio Olympics late Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Indian boxer defeated the Olympic debutant in his opening contest, which came alive only in the final three minutes, to make the last-16.

Conwell, who walked in to hostile boos from the local crowd, struggled to launch an attack on the Indian in the opening round. Vikas, on the other hand, used his right straights and uppercuts to good effect in the first three minutes.

Vikas dropped his guard quite early in the bout but Conwell's attempts at capitalising on it did not quite work out as he landed into a well-laid trap by the counter-attacking Indian.

Vikas seemed more assured in the second round and concentrated on breaking down Conwell's defence by targetting his torso.

"When I saw the draw and got a fight against another US boxer, the London thought came to my mind. I did not want a repeat of what happened four years back. But I had my strategies clear -- to beat him in the first two rounds," he said.

Krishan will now face Turkey's Onder Sipal in the Round of 16 on August 13.

(With inputs from PTI)

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