Boxer Bruno Julie secured the first Olympic medal for Mauritius in any sport on Monday.
The 20-year-old Julie, who had attracted attention by medalling in several international tournaments, outpointed Venezuelan Hector Manzanilla Rangel in the quarter-finals to make sure of at least a bronze medal.
Julie thrilled the crowd at Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium by winning a 13-9 decision after a lively bout, with the two fighters furiously trading blows in the centre of the ring.
Winning a first medal at the Olympics for the Indian Ocean island, situated off the coast of southeastern Africa, should have made him a happy man, but he was not satisfied.
‘I'm very experienced and I knew I would win,’ he said. ‘We had said with my coach that we wanted to win the title and we are going to.’
He might struggle to do that, however, with Cuban Yankiel Leon now standing on his way to the final.
