Super heavyweight Joe Joyce could not hide his disappointment after seeing an opportunity to qualify for Rio 2016 slip through his hands following defeat in the semi-finals of the World Boxing Championships.
Having reached the last four of the Championships in Doha, Joyce knew he would not be leaving emptied handed after guaranteeing himself a bronze medal.
However the 30-year-old had his eyes on another prize, with the chance to secure a place at next year’s Olympics up for grabs for the overall champion in his category.
Standing in his way of that gold medal bout was France’s Tony Yoka in the semi-final on Monday night.
And while the third seed nearly knocked his opponent down during the second round, all three judges scored unanimously in favour of the Frenchman, bringing a close to Joyce’s World Championship bid.
“I thought I did enough, I thought I landed the heavier shots. He’s a tricky opponent but I’m just gutted,” said Joyce.
“The next round could have potentially given me Olympic qualification.
“I’m nearly there again. A bronze medal is alright but there’s no real prize for third.”
Commonwealth Games champion Joyce was the last Briton standing at the Championships, with the remaining seven boxers having all exited at earlier stages during the campaign.
Qais Ashfaq suffered an early exit on day one, following a split decision loss against Russian Bakhtovar Nazirov in the bantamweight division.
Light flyweight Harvey Horn and light welterweight Pat McCormack were unable to follow up their opening bout wins, losing out to Russian duo Vasily Egorov and Vitaly Dunaytsev respectively, with light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi falling to double world champion Julio La Cruz.
There were however quarter-final appearances for Muhammad Ali, Joe Cordina and Josh Kelly in the flyweight, lightweight and welterweight categories.
And with three further opportunities to reach Rio 2016 at events in April, May and June of next year, the squad will be aiming to build upon their experiences in Doha to book their places in Brazil.
Sportsbeat 2015