Tokyo 2020: Shakul Samed's coach blames Argentine referee for defeat

Shakul Samed's coach Ofori Asare has blamed his boxer's defeat on Argentine referee Vilarino Manuel's decision to stop the fight early.

Samed on Wednesday was eliminated from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics boxing event after losing to Turkish boxer Bayram Malkan via a second-round technical knockout.

Reacting to Samed's defeat, Coach Asare expressed sadness that the referee decided to stop.

READ ALSO: Tokyo 2020: Ghana's Shakul Samed suffers TKO to Bayram Malkan (video)

He believed his boxer was doing okay in the fight and Vilarino Manuel was too quick to call off the fight after the knockdown. 

"... Shakul Samed was working very hard, he wanted to win he took a punch and the referee didn't give him the chance to come back. It is very bad on our part, what can we do?" he quizzed. 

"Defeat is part of the game so we are not going to give up. We still have two boxers there so we will work very hard to make a mark."

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Four of the five judges scored the first round in favour of Malkan and he looked set to win the second round as well until his right hook ended the bout prematurely.

Shakul Samed became the first Ghanaian boxer to be eliminated from the games.

Earlier on Wednesday, Samuel Takyi progressed to the quarterfinals in the featherweight division. Takyi will fight Colombia’s Ceiber Ávila on Sunday, August 1.

Black Bombers captain Sulemanu Tetteh is preparing for his round of 16 fight against Yosvany Veitía of Cuba on Saturday, July 31.