BOXING: Of the litany of Irish disappointments over the past week, the elimination from Andy Lee from the Olympic boxing tournament was the most emotional.

Of all the Athenian Olympic venues, the boxing hall is the most charming, hidden away among the back streets of the Peristeri neighbourhood. So it was that at dusk, with locals returning from church, sipping liquors as they sat on small wrought iron balconies or watching the day's sport on television, the Irish arrived. They came draped in shamrocks, dressed as leprechauns, drinking cans. Even before Andy Lee arrived on the floor for his middleweight bout, they were singing and chanting and to seasoned amateur boxing men, it must have seemed like a vintage night at the Stadium.

"A warm crowd. A very warm crowd," said a volunteer, delighted at the atmosphere.

After Lee's opening fight, there had been reason for optimism he could buck the general Irish Olympic trend of punching below weight. In going down on a split decision against Hassan Ndam Njikam of the Cameroon, Lee fought tough. But as he made his way from the arena, soaked in sweat and a little puffy around both eyes, he looked back towards the darkness of the main hall, where Irish voices still sounded, in obvious distress.

"I didn't box at all. I lost that fight myself. I can beat that guy. The sharpness wasn't there. He changed his style, he moved. He had his tactics right and from the first round he was going back. Billy was telling me to feint, to throw my left when I got in close. Sometimes it worked but a lot of times I couldn't get it close at all."

From the opening bell, the African champion worked the narrative of the fight as he pleased. Swinging big, bludgeoning hooks, he just brawled his way through Lee's defence and then picked off his points in the confusion. Though he gave way in height to the Irish man, he seemed to lack nothing in reach. In scoring, Njikam frequently did damage, landing a heavy right to make it 13-17 in the second round and another powerful, deliberate hook at the end of the third round that tested the Irishman's frame. It took its toll: after the fight, the Irish man was taken to a nearby hospital and remained there overnight for observation.

It had not been envisaged he would ship such punishment. Lee, planning to mine his way through Njikam's defence and score with his accurate and quick-jabbing right hand found himself sucked into a street fight and had to go chasing the fight for the middle two rounds, which were scored 7-9 and 6-6.

"We worked all week on drawing him in and countering but he just couldn't step back when yer man lunged with his shots," said his trainer, Billy Walsh. "Then he went on his bike and we had to go chasing."

Into the last two minutes, Lee still trailed by four points and but managed to claw his way back into the reckoning through a series of desperate and tired traded blows. Three times referee Aruturo Vidal warned Njikam about turning but no points were docked. Lee trailed by 26-27 in the last 10 seconds of the fight but scored a late punch to level matters. He fell to his knees and punched the canvas in frustration after the African's arm was raised following a tense wait for the countback.

"I think in the first half I win that match," said Njikam in a heavy French accent. "I came to give all the power in my heart. In my first match I don't box like I want but now I changed my style to beat the Irelander. Because I see in the video how I will box with him."

Waiting for the countback, the Cameroonian looked cool and unconcerned about the result.

"Yes, because in the fourth, my coach said I am lost, I am lost. So I put power in at the end. In Africa, it is power, power, power. But Andy Lee, he is good, he is technique. So I change."

It was the cruellest end to the likeable young Limerick fighter's Olympics.

"Twenty years of age, he finds it hard to see four years down the road," shrugged Billy Walsh. "But he will be back."

But Beijing could offer no consolation on Saturday night. All Lee wanted was to live his last fight over again. "It's my own fault," he said. "And the Irish support out there was fantastic. I feel like I let them all down."