Croydon boxer Josh Buatsi cut a dejected figure despite surpassing expectations by securing an Olympic bronze medal at in Rio last night.

The 23-year-old dropped a unanimous decision to Kazakhstan's Adilbek Niyazymbetov in their light-heavyweight semi-final, bringing an end to his impressive run through the tournament.

Buatsi's bronze took Britain to 48 medals in Rio - setting a new record for an overseas Games.

The former Edenham High School pupil had arrived at the Olympics as a relative notice but three straight wins - including a stunning stoppage of Uzbek veteran Elshod Rasulov - raised hopes he could continue his trajectory all the way to gold.

But Buatsi was frequently frustrated by his opponent's spoiling tactics and after losing a tight first, in which he might have hoped his sharper left hands had caught the judges' eyes, he was presented with a near-impossible task.

Buatsi said: "A bronze medal surpasses all expectations, but once I got here and was winning I was aiming for gold and nothing else.

"I was frustrated and I showed it and I shouldn't have done that. I know I am a very good fighter and this experience is only going to add to what I have already."

Buatsi's surprise success has come against a backdrop of relative struggle for the Great Britain boxing team with a number of their medal chances suffering hard draws and going out early.

But wins for Nicola Adams and Joe Joyce yesterday guaranteed they will leave the Games having hit their UK Sport target of at least three medals.