Asia’s leading boxing nation Kazakhstan has got 12 medal chances in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Kazakhstan is Asia’s leading boxing nation which topped the team rankings in the recent editions of the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing in Amman and also in Bangkok. The Kazakh squad finished in the first position at the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty therefore their expectations are high in the upcoming Olympic Games.
The boxing tournament of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be starting on August 6 where 63 Asians can take part for the medals in Brazil. Among them 12 came from Kazakhstan which is record number of quota place since 1996 when the country could join to the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games. The average age of the 12 qualified Kazakh boxers is 26.5 years which means they are ahead of their opponents in experiences.
Kazakhstan has got several gold medals contenders in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and their strong squad could be delivered their next sensational event. The strong nation claimed only two silver medals in the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships but five gold medals in the last edition of the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
Kazakhstan’s first woman quota was achieved by their ASBC Asian Women’s Champion Dariga Shakimova who bagged silver at the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event in Qian’an. After the Middleweight class (75 kg) boxer Zhaina Shekerbekova rounded up their female squad in Rio winning his quarter-final bout at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Astana. The Incheon 2014 Asian Games silver medallist Flyweight class (51 kg) boxer is an aggressive fighter who is among the secret favourites.
Kazakhstan’s biggest star in the man team is Daniyar Yeleussinov who claimed gold at the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships and all of the Asian competitions in the recent three years. Yeleussinov received the Best Man Elite Boxer Trophy from AIBA in 2013 and also in 2014. The 25-year-old Welterweight class (69 kg) boxer has got experiences from the last Olympic Games and will be trying to continue Kazakhstan’s amazing golden series in this category which began in 2004.
Kazakhstan’s Light Flyweight class (49 kg) boxer Birzhan Zhakypov and their top Middleweight class (75 kg) hope Zhanibek Alimkhanuly both claimed also gold medal at the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships in the front of the home crowd. Zhakypov, who qualified from the AIBA Pro Boxing, is already 32 while Alimkhanuly is only 23 but both had enough experiences to beat anyone in the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Asian Games winner Ivan Dychko secured silver and bronze medals in the recent worldwide event since the London 2012 Olympic Games but the gold is still missing from his collection. Besides to the Super Heavyweight class (+91 kg) boxer Adilbek Niyazymbetov also has got the chance to be crowned in Rio de Janeiro following his three silver medals from the worldwide events.
Berik Abdrakhmanov was the first Kazakh boxer who could secure his place to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games winning the APB Lightweight class (60 kg) title one and half year ago. Vasiliy Levit worked well in the Season V of the World Series of Boxing, ranked as No.1 at the Heavyweight class (91 kg) and get his Olympic ticket still in April 2015. The youngest team member of the Kazakh delegation will be Youth Olympic Games winner Ablaikhan Zhussupov who is only 19 but he is among the medal contenders of the Light Welterweight class (64 kg) in Rio.
Defending ASBC Asian Champion veteran Olzhas Sattibayev and AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medallist 26-year-old Kairat Yeraliyev were Kazakhstan’s last men boxers who could qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games winning their Box-offs at the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event in Qian’an, China. Both have got also medal dreams in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Flyweight class (52 kg) and at the Bantamweight class (56 kg).