With rapid attacks and extremely flexible paces, the 23-year-old Zou outclassed Aleksan Nalbandyan of Armenia in the four-round quarterfinal match to book a berth in the semifinals of the 48kg category.

   As the losers of semifinals share bronze medal at Olympic boxing tournament, Zou has secured at least one bronze medal for China, the best ever result for Chinese boxers at the Olympic Games.

   "I can't say anything to you now as I am just watching the match of my opponent in the semifinals," said Zou when Xinhua reached him via mobile phone.

   In the semifinals scheduled for Aug. 27, Zou will take on Cuban boxer Varela Yan Bhartelemy, who beat South Korean Hong Moo Won 30-11 on points in another quarterfinal match.

   "We have aimed at a major breakthrough at this Olympic Games, but we didn't give much pressure to ourselves," said Li Qingsheng, head coach of the Chinese boxing team.

   "Therefore, Zou played all his matches in a fairly relaxed manner and fully displayed his strength," Li added.

   Though the Armenian boxer played quite well in the previous rounds, Zou felt he was quite sure of beating him after "some careful analysis of his techniques", said Li.