ATHENS, Aug 24: Britain's sensational 17-year-old Amir Khan has won at least an Olympic boxing bronze medal after stopping South Korea's Baik Jong Sub in just 1min 37sec to reach the lightweight (60kg) semifinals.

He caught Baik with a flurry of punches to win two standing counts of eight and was all over the Korean when the referee stepped in to stop the fight. He fights Kazakhstan's Serik Yeleuov on Friday for a place in Sunday's final after the 23-year-old out pointed Italy's Domenico Valentino 29-23.

His opponent for a gold medal should be Mario Cesar Kindelan Mesa, the 33-year-old Cuban defending champion, who fights Rovshan Huseynov of Azerbaijan later Tuesday in his quarterfinal.

Kindelan Mesa, a three-time world champion, fights either Murat Krachev of Russia or Uganda's Sam Rukundo in the other semifinal. Amir, a cousin of England cricket international fast bowler Sajid Mahmood, lost to Kindelan Mesa in the Acropolis Cup in this same Peristeri Hall in May.

He recently won the world junior championships in South Korea and the Eurropean championships but is not old enough to compete in senior events in Britain. The son of a Pakistan-born scrap metal dealer in Bolton, northern England, he is trying to better his hero Muhammad Ali's achievement who won Olympic light heavyweight gold in Rome in 1960 as an 18-year-old.

He is also aiming to become the youngest Olympic boxing champion since former heavyweight world champion Floyd Patterson won the middleweight gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics when he was a month younger than Khan.

Former champions in Amir's category have included world champions Oscar de la Hoya and Pernell Whitaker. Meanwhile, Australia, Canada and Russia shared the cycling golds on Tuesday as the men's Olympic champion in discus was stripped of his medal after failing a drugs test.

With athletics events not due to be decided until later in the evening, attention focused on the Velodrome where unheralded Russian Mikhail Ignatyev scored a surprise victory in the men's points race.

Nineteen-year-old Ignatyev outraced defending champion Joan Llaneras of Spain over the 40-kilometre distance that included 16 sprints. Bronze went to Germany's Guido Fulst.

Ryan Bayley came from behind to beat Dutchman Theo Bos 2-1 in the final of the men's sprint and give Australia its 14th gold of the Games. Germany's Rene Wolff picked up bronze.

The women's sprint was won by veteran Lori-Ann Muenzer of Canada. The 38-year-old proved too strong for her Russian opponent Tamilla Abassova, who had to settle for silver, with Anna Meares of Australia taking bronze.

The International Olympic Committee confirmed that Robert Fazekas of Hungary failed a doping test after his Olympic record throw of 70.93 metres on Monday night. Under IOC rules Fazekas forfeited his gold medal, meaning that the Olympic champion from Sydney, Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, was promoted from runner-up to Olympic victor.

The news came a day after IOC stripped Russian shot putter Irina Korzhanenko of her gold medal when she tested positive for the steroid stanozolol after last Wednesday's competition in ancient Olympia.

In soccer, Argentina defeated Italy 3-0 to reach the final of the men's tournament. Their opponents in Saturday's final at the Olympic Stadium will be either Iraq or Paraguay who were playing the second semi-final later in the day in Thessaloniki.

Boca Juniors striker Carlos Tevez put Argentina ahead in the 16th minute for his seventh goal of the Games. Luis Gonzalez in the 67th and substitute Mariano Gonzalez in the 84th added to the tally for a highly-deserved victory.

Germany's equestrian team was heading for showjumping gold to make up for the two golds lost in the three-day event - and which the International Olympic Committee officially demanded be returned.

The quartet of Marco Kutscher, Ludger Beerbaum, Christian Ahlmann and Otto Becker ended the morning qualifying session in the lead over the Netherlands and USA ahead of the team event's evening finals. -Agencies

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