Iraq and Vietnam earned medals in the youth quarter-finals in Astana
Iraq and Vietnam earned medals in the youth quarter-finals at the ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan next to the big powers.
Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Palestine, Philippines, Tajikistan, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen are the 22 participating nations in the event.
Boranbek and Sobutkhanov are the first youth medallists in Astana
Vietnam’s Nguyen Trung Khanh is a small boxer at the men’s minimumweight (48kg) but he has powerful shots and he proved that against a gold medal contender, Uzbekistan’s Muhammadgiyos Sobutkhanov. The Vietnamese was competitive in the first round and he impressed once again in the third but the Uzbek had the routine to win their tight contest in Astana. Sobutkhanov and Kazakhstan’s Beksultan Boranbek are the first youth medallists in the championships and they will meet each other in the semi-finals.
Sufijonov is on the golden pathway
Tajikistan’s Meroj Sufijonov won the CIS Youth Games this August and he eliminated one of his main rivals, Kyrgyzstan’s Zafarbek Kamilov in the preliminary round in Astana. The 18-year-old Tajik overcame Turkmenistan’s Nurmyrat Saparov in the attacks and he controlled the first round. Sufijonov landed his jabs with perfect timing and he proved his strength of his shots in the second round as well therefore the referee stopped the contest. Japan’s Seiya Nakayama eliminated India’s Rishi Singh controlling all of the three rounds and he will be Sufijonov’s next rival in the semi-finals.
Kataoka and Suyom are genius at the flyweight
Japan’s Raito Kataoka won his previous national competitions with dominant performance but he had to meet a high-ranked rival, an ASBC medallist Uzbek boxer, Miralijon Mavlonov in the quarter-finals of the flyweight (51kg). The smaller Japanese landed the better shots in the first round and all of the five judges favored him after three minutes. Mavlonov found his best fighting distance in the second round and his final three minutes meant that he was near to turn back the result but Kataoka had the advantage to win this quarter-final. Kataoka will now meet in the semi-final Philippines’ No.1, Ronel Suyom who had another brilliant performance against India’s Aryan.
Jin Juan and Abbas Qasim caused surprises at the flyweight
Thailand’s Youth World Championships bronze medallist Wacharakorn Junthasorn had difficulties against South Korea’s Jin Juan in the first and second rounds and he did not find the best fighting range today. The Thai was the favourite of their contest but the South Korean exceeded his previous level today and he had a unanimous success over Junthasorn at the men’s flyweight (51kg). Kazakhstan’s Islam Mashkentayev was smaller than Iraq’s Abbas Qasim and his opponent used the best strategy therefore the local boy suffered an unexpected loss today.
Samandar Olimov and Tran Quang Loc will meet in the semi-finals
Uzbekistan’s promising Samandar Olimov used his virtuoso technical skills against Tajikistan’s Buzurgmekhr Iksanov in the first round of their bantamweight (54kg) contest. The 18-year-old Uzbek was strong in the preparation tournaments and he had the clear advantage in all of the scorecards after two rounds. Olimov enjoyed his quarter-final bout and he had the clear dominance over the neighbouring opponent which means he will now meet Vietnam’s Tran Quang Loc who surprisingly eliminated Philippines’s favourite, Reymond Lofranco.
Sento Ito’s U-turn delivered an unexpected result in the end of the session
Kazakhstan’s Zhanseri Kosherbayev ruled the middle of the ring against Japan’s Sento Ito in the first round and he landed several clear shots. The Kazakh southpaw met with bigger resistance in the second round when Ito found the same rhythm as Kosherbayev’s one and he produced a totally different period. The Japanese boxer made a remarkable final round and the referee counted the Kazakh once due to his heavy shots. Ito’s impressive comeback in the second round made the biggest U-turn of the afternoon session and the Japanese advanced to the semi-finals.
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