APB-WSB Olympic Qualification Event – Finals

Ruenroeng and Tharumalingam took silver medal in the APB-WSB Olympic Qualification Event

Thailand’s veteran professional boxer Amnat Ruenroeng and Qatar’s Thulasi Tharumalingam both were amazing in the semi-finals of the APB/WSB Olympic Qualification Event on Day4 in Vargas, Venezuela and both athletes finally claimed silver medal in the competition. The number of the Asian qualified boxers rose up to 62 for Rio after Vargas.
Thailand’s lone boxer is their professional world champion Amnat Ruenroeng who was Olympian in Beijing eight years ago and claimed bronze medal at the 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championship in Chicago. This time he boxed at the Lightweight class (60 kg) where he was seeded as No.2 and started his campaign against a tough German boxer, Artur Bril. Ruenroeng, who was World Champion in professional boxing, eliminated his German rival and defeated also Italy’s Carmine Tommasone in the important semi-final. Thailand’s 38-year-old veteran qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as fifth Thai boxer and after that important success he was not enough fresh in the final against Mexico’s Lindolfo Delgado. Ruenroeng claimed silver medal in the APB/WSB Olympic Qualification Event which means he can box also in the upcoming Olympic Games in Brazil next month.
Qatar’s Thulasi Tharumalingam competed well enough in the AIBA Pro Boxing in the recent one year and he reached the level of the best boxers at the Light Welterweight class (64 kg). The Qatari boxer demonstrated his power and used the best tactic against Italy’s Massimiliano Ballisai in his opening bout in Vargas. The Italian returned from the professional world but Qatar’s hope did not give him any chance in the quarter-final. Tharumalingam continued his winning path in the semi-final against Argentina’s Carlos Aquino and qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as second Qatari boxer. Gulf region’s new hero did not do his very best in the final against Armenia’s Hovhannes Bachkov but his silver medal is a strong performance and a career highlight for the Qatari boxer.
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 was too strong for Ukraine’s Nazar Kurotchyn in the quarter-final but he could not advance to the gold medal bout following his loss to Mexico’s Joselito Velasquez. Shin Jong Hun could fight for the last available Olympic spot against Argentina’s Leandro Blanc and surprisingly he lost to his South American rival. Shin Jong Hun was Olympian in London but he could not qualify to his next Games this time.
India’s Neeraj Goyat had a few god results in the national and international tournaments before he turned to professional in 2013. The Indian boxer moved up to the Welterweight class (69 kg) since his last appearance but he was well prepared to the competition in Vargas. Goyat controlled his fight over Greece’s Dimitrios Poulikos Tsagrakos and advanced to the semi-finals where his next opponent was Germany’s AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Araik Marutjan. The Indian boxer was not enough accurate in their contest and lost his semi-final but he had the chance to get the last Olympic ticket in the Box-off against Spain’s Youba Ndiaye Sissokho. The Indian boxer did his very best but his technician Spanish rival worked in different rhythm which meant Goyat won’t be there in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.