Paul knocked out of Olympics

Paul, making his Olympic debut, struggled to contain his rival who repeatedly landed power punches to the head to take control.

Paul tried his best to counter but was not effective against the quicker Ajagba.

Less than three minutes into the first round, the Nigerian punished Paul for a rookie mistake, con- necting on a crushing straight right to Paul’s head that saw him crumple to the floor face first. The ringside doctor quickly rushed to Paul’s side as the referee called off the bout.

“It caught me really well,” Paul said after the race in a surprisingly sprightly interview with the media after his fight.

“I started off a little slow,” the 27-year-old said, “The game plan was to come out hard and come out swinging.

I kind of started off with a couple bad shots. He caught me with a couple early.

I had the chance to capitalise on that and answer back but unfortunately I made a rookie mistake by keeping my guard a little low and he caught me with a right hand. We was looking out for the right and trained to defend against the right and that’s what got me down. I guess it’s the rookie in me,” he said.

Asked what passed through his mind as he lay dazed on the mat, Paul said he knew he his coach Floyd Trumpet would be unhappy as they had identified the Nigerian’s powerful right punch as a threat from early.

Paul thanked his family, friends and fans though for their tremendous support and despite his unceremonious exit said he is still enjoying the Olympic experience.

“I want to tell Trinidad and Tobago thanks for the support.

There has been endless text messages and Facebook, I don’t know how people got my number. I feel blessed to be here thinking about my story. It have no bad side or down side for me being here basically.

I’m just enjoying the fact that I am at the Olympics and representing Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.