Quarter-final defeats for Khalid Yafai and Scott Cardle last night ended British interest in the competition and will lead to criticism that the programme has gone backwards since its triple medal haul at last year's Olympics in Beijing, the team's performance in the Games for more than half-a-century.

Travers and performance director Kevin Hickey took over when Edwards, the previous incumbent, was told his contract was not being renewed after Beijing.

Travers directed a thinly-veiled dig at the perceived lack of foresight of the Edwards regime and said an inexperienced team had fared well in Milan given that six of eight Olympians had since turned professional.

He said: "Nothing's gone wrong.

"I'm not despondent at all.

"I'm looking to the future - I know what we need to do and I'm convinced we will do it.

"There was no second tier being worked on before I took over.

"We took an inexperienced team to Milan looking for that experience, and I'm pleased we got it."

Travers' comment drew a stinging rebuke from Edwards, who pointed out that both Yafai and Billy Joe Saunders had been fast-tracked from the development squad to compete in the Beijing Games.

Edwards said: "The facts speak for themselves - we've always had a successful development squad and we've always brought them through with success.

"In fact Khalid was my first world junior champion.

"We medalled in every major world and European tournament after I took charge in 2005.

"But we did not win a medal in Milan.

"I suggest it is time for the new regime to bear some responsibility instead of directing blame elsewhere.

"This is not sour grapes.

"I was extremely disappointed to hear the news about Milan.

"I would have loved to have seen the results exceed what we achieved in Chicago two years ago.

"Sadly it was not to be."

Yafai's 9-3 defeat to Germany's Ronny Beblik was not without controversy, with Travers insisting the Birmingham flyweight deserved a victory which would have attained the target agreed by UK Sport of a solitary medal.

Travers said: "I have every reason to believe Khalid would have won the gold medal.

"He didn't get it because of the scoring.

"But he didn't get points in the first round that would have changed the nature of the fight."

Criticism is bound to increase about the nature of the new programme, with a new umbrella body, the British Amateur Boxing Association, formed since Beijing to pool the best talent from the home nations programmes.

But Travers and Hickey will point, with some justification, to comparable results at the World Championships in Mianyang City, China in 2005 - also one year into a new Olympic cycle - when Neil Perkins scraped the nation's only bronze.

They will also head home with the comfort of a couple of undoubted plus points, not least the excellent performances of Cardle in his first major tournament as a light-welterweight, and the promise of lightweight Thomas Stalker.

Travers said: "It has been a difficult tournament and we are disappointed we did not hit our target of one medal but we believe that should have been attained.

"What is for sure is that there will be no hiding places as we push ahead towards 2012."


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