Michael Conlan: 'I had to spend time with my family after Rio agony or I couldn't have got through it'

Belfast boxer Michael Conlan has revealed how he broke down in tears after his Olympic dream was controversially shattered in Rio. And in an open and searingly honest interview with the Belfast Telegraph, he has spoken about his continuing hurt at his stunning quarter-final defeat, why he had to leave the Olympic Village to spend time with his family, having no regrets about a post-fight expletive-filled television interview and why he firmly believes that he will be a major success in the boxing ring in the future.

The 24-year-old also thanked the public and sporting world for their overwhelming support.

Conlan has become one of the stories of the 2016 Olympic Games after he was the victim of a staggering judging decision in his bantamweight clash with Russian Vladimir Nikitin.

While the fans inside the boxing arena on Tuesday and all those watching on television were convinced that World Amateur Champion Conlan had comfortably won the three-round contest, the judges gave a unanimous verdict to Nikitin, who subsequently was unable to take his place in the semi-final due to injury, having been outclassed by the Team Ireland star.

Understandably, Conlan was furious about the decision and in an RTE television interview immediately after the fight he let rip at the judges and the International Boxing Association (AIBA), the amateur sport's governing body, claiming the organisation was corrupt and insisting he had been "robbed".

Since the fight, the 2014 Commonwealth Games champion has been spending quality time with his fiancee Shauna and daughter Luisne, soaking up the sun on Copacabana beach in Rio. Michael's mother Teresa and father John, who coaches the Irish boxing team, are also out in Brazil, along with his brother Jamie, an accomplished professional boxer.

They have been hit hard at seeing a dream ripped away from their boy in such contentious circumstances.

For the man himself, considered one of Ireland's finest ever amateur boxers, the pain remains - so much so that he had to leave the Olympic Village.

"I am still hurting," said Conlan. "I had to get out of the Olympic Village and spend time with my family otherwise I would have gone mental.

"I took myself away from it because I didn't want to be constantly reminded about what went on.