APB-WSB Olympic Qualification Event – Day3 Report

Five Asian boxers are in the semi-finals of the APB-WSB Olympic Qualification Event in Vargas

Thailand’s veteran professional boxer Amnat Ruenroeng, Qatar’s Thulasi Tharumalingam and India’s Neeraj Goyat advanced to the semi-finals of the APB/WSB Olympic Qualification Event on Day2 and after that China’s Mu Haipeng and South Korea’s Shin Jong Hun also secured their places in the last four.
The last chance for all of the boxers to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is the APB/WSB Olympic Qualification Event which is holding in Vargas, Venezuela and the Asian athletes attend in the important tournament. The finals and the box-offs will be held on July 8 when 26 quota places will be found their owners in the ten men weight classes.
The city hosted the last edition of the AMBC American Confederation Boxing Championships ten months ago in the highest level and after the grand opening ceremony Vargas will see top contests today. 79 boxers from 40 nations have been there in the official weigh-in in Vargas and among them 9 Asian athletes will be trying to get the spots for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
China’s Mu Haipeng is a promising boxer at the Super Heavyweight class (+91 kg) who replaced Wang Zhibao in the national squad. He is only 21 but had enough experiences and freshness to control his quarter-final contest in the important qualification event. Mu Haipeng took the lead against Algeria’s French-based professional boxer Newfel Ouatah in the first round and he was able to raise it in the second. China’s new talent won finally all of the rounds and advanced to the semi-final beating his North African opponent in Vargas.
South Korea’s Shin Jong Hun was silver medallist at the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships following his bronze in 2009. The London 2012 Olympian Korean boxer was gold medallist at the Incheon 2014 Asian Games and after his suspension he returned to the world of boxing in time. The South Korean Light Flyweight class (49 kg) boxer had to meet with Ukraine’s Nazar Kurotchyn who is strong member of their WSB franchise. Shin began the bout better with quick combinations and his experiences were enough to beat his European rival in the APB/WSB Olympic Qualification Event.
South Korea’s Ham Sang Myeong was also gold medallist at the Incheon 2014 Asian Games and following his appearances in the AIBA Pro Boxing he could box in the last chance qualifiers in Vargas. The 21-year-old Bantamweight class (56 kg) boxer had to meet with Turkey’s Ibrahim Gokcek who was strong in the recent competitions. The Korean boxer tried to do his very best in their contest but he was not able to stop the Turkish attacks successfully which meant he won’t be there in the Olympic Games in Rio.