Busan: India's chances of winning a medal in boxing suffered a serious setback when Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mohammad Ali Qamar crashed out in the quarter- finals of the light flyweight category of the Asian Games on Tuesday.

Qamar, one of the medal prospects for India after his superb show in Manchester, went down 11-21 to Harry Tanamor of Philippines at the Masan Gymnasium.

The Indian pugilist could never really recover from the early assault launched by his rival who took a comfortable lead.

After being at the receiving end for most part of the fight, Qamar closed the gap in the last two rounds with a few crisp punches but it came too late in the day to alter the result.

The Kolkata boxer also paid dearly for leaving his defence loose at times. Particularly, while going for the attacks, he allowed the wily Filipino to score a few points.

The exit of Qamar at the quarter-final stage has diminished India's medal hopes in the event though a couple of boxers have made it to the last eight stage.

Ramananand and Jitender Kumar, who have found their way into the quarter-finals, will carry India's medal hopes though they are expected to face a stiff opposition in their next fights.

PTI