Indian boxer Shiva Thapa put on a gallant display before going down 3-0 to Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba in the men's 56kg category in Rio on Thursday. Ramirez was the gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, though in the 52kg category.
The first 60 seconds of the bout saw both boxers looking to go on the offensive, before they settled into a more infrequent exchange of attacking moves. The first round was scored 30-27 in favour of Ramirez by all three judges.
Ramirez came out in an aggressive mood for the second round, forcing Thapa to depend purely on counterpunches. The bout was stopped with 43 seconds left for the round to finish when Thapa sustained a cut above his left eye. This round went 30-26 to Ramirez.
Ramirez used a combination of jabs, hooks and upper cuts in the third round to force Thapa on to the backfoot in the last round. He was staggering at one stage, and was eventually beaten 30-26 for the round.
"This result was expected as Shiva was up against a former Olympic champion," said boxing head coach GS Sandhu. "He has won 11 consecutive World Series boxing matches and was the better boxer on the day. He was quicker on his feet and a Cuban always puts pressure."
India's boxing challenge now depends on the progress of Vikas Krishan and Manoj Kumar.