New Delhi: Teen Indian boxing sensation Vikas Krishan's dream run at the World Championships came to an end as he settled for a bronze medal after losing his welterweight (69kg) semi-final bout in Baku, Azerbaijan on Friday.
Up against Ukraine's European Championship bronze-medallist Taras Shelestyuk, the 19-year-old Vikas went down 12-15.
The Asian Games gold medallist thereby repeated the bronze-medal winning feat of Olympian Vijender Singh at the mega-event, but has become the youngest Indian to notch a medal at the showcase.
Facing a stronger rival, Vikas kept a shell guard to stave off an early assault, but the sheer power of Shelestyuk's hooks and uppercuts forced him to open up, which allowed the Ukrainian to connect a few telling jabs.
Strength proved to be a key factor as Vikas found it tough to cope with a muscular rival, who threw caution to the wind and fought aggressively to lead 4-2 in the opening round.
In the second round, Vikas changed strategy and tried keeping Shelestyuk at bay by fighting from a distance but the Ukrainian's precision was hard to deal with for the Indian, whose ribcage became the target of some powerful bodyblows.
The round ended 10-6 in favour of the Ukrainian and it required a miraculous effort to turn the deficit around. But the guile and adaptability which Vikas showed in his earlier bouts was missing this time against an opponent focussed on attacking.
The Indian was much more precise with his punches in the final round, but this time the Ukrainian kept a shell guard to deny the Indian. Even though Vikas managed to win the last round 6-5 but it could not wipe off the overall deficit.
Shelestyuk will now be up against Serik Sapiyev of Kazakhstan, who left his Lithuanian rival Egidijus Kavaliauskas with a bloodied nose in the first round itself, forcing him to retire at the end of the opening three minutes.
The Kazakh was leading 8-2 when the Lithuanian corner decided to concede the bout.
Bronze medal apart, Vikas has also qualified for the Olympics along with three other Indians - Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) and L Devendro Singh (49kg). All four made the Olympic cut after making the quarter-finals of the ongoing event.
Meanwhile, he might have had to settle for a bronze medal, which was India's lone medal at the event just like the last time around, but Vikas Krishan said he was satisfied with how he performed against older and experienced rivals in his debut World Championships.
Vikas, who was an Asian Games gold-medallist in the lightweight (60kg) division, jumped to welterweight just two months before the World Championships, his debut event in the new category.
"I am very satisfied with my performance as I competed against some very tough guys in my draw and given that it was my debut event in the welterweight division, I will happily take this bronze medal," Vikas told PTI from Baku.
The Haryana-lad, who is a former youth world champion, said he felt a tad tired during his bout against a muscular 26-year-old rival.
"I was tired because jumping a couple of divisions and adjusting to it is no easy task. I know I could have performed better but everything is God's will and if he wanted a bronze for me, I would take that bronze," said the teen, who has won admiration for his tactful boxing.
"My rival today was a mature guy, who kept attacking me, drained my energy. I tried very hard in the first two rounds to work out a counter-strategy but it was not to be my day. In the final round, I took things as they came," said the boxer, who finished the final three minutes of his bout 6-5 ahead.
"It has been a fantastic learning experience and I am sure I will be going a step further when I compete in this event the next time. The big achievement here is that I have qualified for the Olympics and I can't be happier because of that," he assured.
National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu was all praise for the teen, saying he is a future world champion.
"His ability belies his age, I am sure he will be a world champion the next time," said Sandhu.
"Even overall, I am very happy with my performance because four of my boxers qualified for the Olympics by reaching quarter-finals. It's a laudable performance and I am proud of them," he added.
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