Great Britain's boxing team suffered another setback when flyweight
Khalid Yafai was beaten in his first bout in the Olympic ring by experienced Cuban Laffita Hernandez.
Yafai was defeated 9-3 by the classy Cuban in what proved to be a demanding exercise for the British fighter.
Nineteen-year-old Yafai was chasing his southpaw opponent from the start with the 30-year-old Hernandez scoring just one point in the first round as he established who was going to control events.
Hernandez used the confidence he had gained in the first round to score quickly in the second round when his work at close range saw him extend his lead to 6-0 before the British fighter gained a point.
Yafai tried desperately to correct the balance in the third round but Hernandez was secure in defence as well and added one more point to his tally to virtually ensure that he was through to the quarter-finals.
In the final round Yafai continued to try to rescue his position, pushing forward at every opportunity, but a fighter in this third Olympic Games was not going to give the British challenger any opportunity of altering the result.
Afterwards Yafai said: “The Cuban is a very experienced fighter and it showed today. It was hard to get to him.
“I’m not going to moan about the scoring – I got beat fair and square,” he added. “Although I’m disappointed, it was a great experience for me and I’ll still be around for 2012.
“This time last year I wasn’t even expecting to be in Beijing. I was boxing in the juniors until Terry (Edwards) brought me in. “
Edwards said: “Khalid is 19 and the Cuban lad is 30 and a very experienced fight.
“I think he did fairly well. It was a controlled performance and one we can learn from for the future,” he added.
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