'Means nothing': Aussie boxer's tears after Olympics heartbreak

Australian boxing hopeful Skye Nicholson cut a truly devastated figure after losing in her quarter-final match at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday evening.

The 25-year-old put her head in her hands after British opponent Karriss Artingstall progressed to the semi-final on a 3-2 split decision.

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Nicholson was left absolutely shattered after the result, which cost her the chance to become the first Australian woman to medal in Olympic boxing.

Her pain was plain to see in the ring, but a gut-wrenching interview with Channel 7 soon afterwards made for difficult viewing.

She said her continued status as one of the nation's greatest fighters 'meant nothing' after falling short of a goal she had so heavily coveted.

“It’s pretty hard to put into words right now," she said through some tears.

“I came here with one goal and that was a gold medal and I truly believed that I was going to win it. So to go out now is really, really hard for me.’’

The Queenslander had been following in the footsteps of her late older brother Jamie, who boxed for Australia at the 1992 Olympics.

Skye's brothers Jamie and Gavin tragically died in a car accident while en route to boxing training in 1994, a year before she was born.

It was a desperate final round, with three judges giving Artingstall the nod to secure a 3-2 win.

That's despite one judge awarding all three rounds to the 25-year-old Australian, while four of the five gave her the edge in the second round as Nicolson's left jabs to Artingstall's body proved impossible to defend.

A win would have guaranteed bronze, given both semi-final losers are awarded third, while the wait goes on for Australia's first Olympic boxing champion.

No luck for Aussies in Olympic boxing at Tokyo

Earlier teammate Paulo Aokuso was beaten in similar fashion in the light heavyweight round of 16 by favoured Spaniard Gazi Jalidov Gafurova.

Aokuso dominated the second round 5-0 but lost the third 4-1, the win ultimately decided by a 3-2 first round awarded to the Spaniard despite the Australian landing several solid blows.

Caitlin Parker was beaten 5-0 by Panama's Atheyna Bylon in the middleweight division.

Earlier on Monday, Australian flyweight Alex Winwood's first Olympics ended with a split-decision loss to Zambia's Patrick Chinyemba.

Dissenting Thai judge Karn Naklam deemed Winwood the winner after three tight rounds.

But the remaining four judges gave the victory to Chinyemba, whose fancy footwork and reach helped secure a spot in the round of 16.

Chinyemba was adjudicated a 29-28 winner on three scorecards, while that was the same margin that Naklam settled on.

Winwood rallied after being outgunned in the opening round, winning the second round in the eyes of all but one judge.

But the 24-year-old West Australian failed to land enough blows to achieve the same result in the deciding round.

With AAP

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