Vikas Krishan will end India's medal drought in Rio, says father

As India's agonising wait for an Olympic medal shows no signs of abating in the ongoing Rio Games, the father of ace boxer Vikas Krishan has expressed confidence that his son will bring an end to this barren run when he will step into the ring for the quarterfinal match in the men's 75kg middleweight category on Tuesday morning.

Following the elimination of Manoj Kumar (64 kg) and Shiva Thapa (56 kg), the country's boxing campaign now solely relies on Vikas.

The 24-year-old Haryana lad will clash against Uzbekistan's Bektemir Melikuziev for a place in the semifinals as well as for a guaranteed medal in the prestigious quadrennial event.

"I'm sure he will put an end to this dry spell and enter semi-finals today. I just had a word with him and told him that he has the blessings of 125 crore Indians," said a proud Krishan Kumar of his son Vikas.

Despite sealing his spot for the Olympics only at the final qualifying competition in Baku last month, Vikas looked brimming with confidence as he was clinical and dominant in both his victories over American Charles Conwell and Sipal Onder of Turkey in the competition.