Abdumalik Khalakov and Sagyndyk Togambay won the titles in the 39th Gee Bee Tournament
The finals of the 39th edition of the Gee Bee Tournament were held in Helsinki, Finland where our continent earned two gold and four silver medals. Uzbekistan’s Youth Olympic Games winner Abdumalik Khalakov and Kazakhstan’s two-time ASBC Asian Youth Champion Sagyndyk Togambay won the Asian titles in Helsinki.
The prestigious Gee Bee Tournament was a parallel competition with the Asian & Oceanian Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event but Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan sent future hopes to Finland. Russia, Ukraine, France, Germany, Armenia, host Finland, Wales, Sweden, Netherlands and many other nations also sent their squads to Helsinki.
Uzbekistan’s Abdumalik Khalakov defeated Kazakhstan’s AIBA World Champion Kairat Yeraliyev in a fantastic final
Uzbekistan’s 19-year-old Abdumalik Khalakov is one of the biggest talents in the whole world who had to miss the Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event due his teammate Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov is the defending AIBA World Champion. The super talented Uzbek won the big three in 2018, the Youth Olympic Games, the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships and also the ASBC Asian Youth Boxing Championships. Khalakov eliminated Germany’s AIBA World Boxing Championships quarter-finalist Murat Yildirim and Russia’s EUBC European Youth Champion Vsevolod Shumkov during his road to the final. The Uzbek teenager used his best weapons and unpredictable footwork to beat Kazakhstan’s 2017 AIBA World Champion Kairat Yeraliyev in an amazing final.
Kazakhstan’s Sagyndyk Togambay won his first ever international elite tournament in Helsinki
Kazakhstan has got plenty of talents in all of the weight classes but Sagyndyk Togambay is one of their best hopes among those hopes who were born in 2001. Sagyndyk Togambay is Kazakhstan’s youngest team member in the Gee Bee Tournament but he could win the difficult heavyweight (91kg) in Helsinki. Togambay claimed gold medals in his recent three ASBC Asian Championships in Puerto Princesa, in Bangkok and in Ulaanbaatar as a junior and youth boxer. The 19-year-old Kazakh teenager eliminated Sweden’s Viktor Olsson and Russia’s Ivan Sagaydak during his road to the finals. Togambay opened the exchanges in the final against Ukraine’s former AIBA Junior World Champion Robert Marton with nice jabs and his tactic worked well in their final which means he won the gold in his first ever international elite tournament.
Asia claimed four further silver medals in Helsinki
Uzbekistan’s Asadkhudja Muydinkhudjayev amazed in the semi-finals of the lightweight (63kg) against Armenia’s Narek Hovhannisyan but he was unable to box in the final due his cuts therefore Russia’s National Champion Aleksey Mazur won the gold. Afghanistan’s Yousof Rohullah advanced to the final of the bantamweight (57kg) and claimed silver medal in Helsinki. Jakarta 2018 Asian Games silver medallist Aslanbek Shymbergenov (69kg) and Nurlan Saparbay (+91kg) lost their narrow finals to their Russian and French opponents therefore the two Kazakhs also achieved silvers.
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