Amir Khan walked from the Olympic boxing ring, disconsolate and dispirited, a 17-year-old on the verge of tears.

He has nothing to cry over, nothing to be ashamed about.

Khan missed out on the lightweight gold medal which would have made him the the youngest boxer since Floyd Patterson 52 years ago to hold an Olympic title after the feistiest of scraps with Cuban champion Mario Kindelan, at 33 a man old enough to be his father.

'If anyone can Khan can' was the slogan which the raucous British fans had proclaimed on their banners.

In the end, however, Kindelan, who hadn't been beaten for five years, was just too canny for Khan.

Just too experienced, too street-wise, too accomplished in the art of Olympic points-scoring and medal-gathering for the lad from Bolton who has entranced the Olympic boxing hall with his skills for the past two weeks.

As always, at the first sign of British talent, some observers had got way ahead of themselves, some of their claims for Khan outrageously premature.

After five stirring fights at the Olympics some were comparing him with Sugar Ray Robinson, Ray Leonard and even Muhammad Ali.

No youngster needs such a millstone, though it was at times easy to see what all the fuss was about as he mixed it blow for blow with the Cuban master who was fighting for the last time.

Khan has it all. Hand-speed, trickery, strength, punching power and a following which, like his ring-work, was reminiscent of that of Naseem Hamed.

He even took an early lead in the first round as Kindelan stepped back, showed him the respect his skills deserved, and sized up how to get to the young kid with the flailing arms.

The second round saw the Cuban's riposte, allowing the youthful over-exuberance of Khan to carry the fight to him before counter-punching with devastating swiftness.

In truth, Khan had not fought anyone even close to this level this past fortnight, and he began to haemorrhage points as the Cuban combinations began to reach their target.

Kindelan took a 14-9 lead, then extended the advantage to 22-14 in a third round which took on the guise of a master class in the art of smash 'n grab fighting.

Khan's only chance was a knockout, but Cuban iron men never fall, not within two minutes of retaining their Olympic title.

And Kindelan's demeanour, refusing to sit between rounds, was designed to intimidate the lad whose Olympic adventure had stirred the hearts and minds of British sport.

An inevitable last-round free-for-all ensued with both fighters giving as good as they got, but no-one could argue with the judges' final tally of 30-22 to Kindelan.

The silver medal, however, represents a wonderful games for Khan and there is no doubt a seed has been sown.

The talent is genuine. The future is bursting with promise.

Over the next month the telephone of Khan's dad, Shajad, will suffer meltdown from the men wanting a share in the future of his son, whose swashbuckling performances have reverberated around the boxing world.

Strangely, missing out on the gold might just assist Khan in his desire to remain an amateur until after the Beijing Games in 2008, though don't bet on it.

After the avalanche of publicity and the flowering of his ability on the grandest stage, it is unrealistic to expect Khan to stay within the amateur ranks for too much longer.

It would take huge resolve for Khan and his family, who run a scrapyard in Bolton, to turn down the fortune which is likely to be on offer.

And make no mistake, Khan could not have arrived at a better time.

Boxing has imploded these past 15 years on the back of Mike Tyson's sordid behaviour and the corruption and political skulduggery which is endemic to the sport.

The British game, in particular, is in desperate need of new blood to follow Lennox Lewis and Naseem Hamed.

But please not yet.

Give Khan time to learn his trade, polish his skills, to mature outside the shark-infested world of professional boxing.

In a couple of years' time Britain would then have a world champion of true brilliance in the making, a fighter on the brink of breaking through at the very highest level.

That was the message reflected in Khan's silver.