Rio Olympics 2016: Ireland's Taylor beaten in quarter-finals

Katie Taylor's defence of her Olympic lightweight title ended with a surprise quarter-final defeat by Finland's Mira Potkonen in Rio on Monday.

In a tight contest the Irish fighter lost on a split decision after a 39-37, 38-38, 37-39 scoreline.

"It is very disappointing - it's very hard to take but I gave it my best shot," Taylor told RTE.

It is another blow for the Ireland team with Michael Conlan the only boxer still involved in the Games.

A positive drugs test for middleweight Michael O'Reilly got Ireland's Rio boxing campaign off to a bad start.

London 2012 bronze medallist Paddy Barnes made a shock exit, while there were also defeats for David Oliver Joyce, Joe Ward, Steven Donnelly and Brendan Irvine.

Bantamweight Conlan clinched a place in the quarter-finals with a unanimous win over Armenia's Aram Avagyan on Sunday.

Taylor produced a busy performance against Potkonen but her opponent landed the bigger punches, giving her the edge and a guaranteed medal as a semi-finalist.