Eleven Chinese boxers qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

China exceeded the expectations in the qualification events for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and finally their boxing team will contains 11 athletes in the August’s competition. The Chinese ladies are among the bests in the world but their man squad developed well in the recent two years and the result is their eight spots for Rio.
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 11 came from China which is record number of quota place in boxing. China hosted the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and 10 of their boxers could compete eight years ago while the country could send 9-strong-team to the London 2012 Olympic Games. The average age of the 11 qualified Chinese boxers is 25.7 years which is over the medium range of other countries.
Their two-time Olympic Champion Zou Shiming finished their career after the London 2012 Olympic Games and many of his teammates also turned to professional or changed into the private life therefore the Chinese Boxing Federation had to build up a new squad. China claimed two bronze medals in the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships, China Dragons competed in the Season V and Season VI in the World Series of Boxing while their boxers also shined in the AIBA Pro Boxing.
China’s first woman quota was achieved by London 2012 Olympic Games silver medallist and three-time AIBA Women’s World Champion Ren Cancan who won the gold at the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event in Qian’an. She defeated Uzbekistan’s Yodgoroy Mirzaeva in the final but her key contest was the semi-final against India’s national icon Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte.
Incheon 2014 Asian Games winner Yin Junhua will be Asia’s lone woman boxer at the Lightweight class (60 kg) in Rio but her chance is enough good to beat top opponents as well. The third Chinese woman boxer in the Games will be Li Qian who claimed silver in the 2014 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and also in the Incheon 2014 Asian Games. She won the gold at the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event in Qian’an and will have realistic chance to win medal at the Middleweight class (75 kg) in Rio.
AIBA Youth World Champion Lu Bin will be replaced Zou Shiming in the Light Flyweight class (49 kg) who is the current APB World Champion but he was not enough strong in the recent AOB tournaments. The Chinese boxer tried to compete in several preparation events before the Games to acclimatize back to the three-round contests.
Hu Jianguan was an unknown boxer in the beginning of the Olympic era but last year he was able to win key contests in the World Series of Boxing and took bronze at the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships. The Flyweight class (52 kg) boxer qualified through to Rio with his silver at the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event.
The most experienced Chinese man boxer is Zhang Jiawei who was involved to the national squad still in 2009. The Bantamweight class (56 kg) boxer achieved silver in the last two editions of the Asian Games in Guangzhou and in Incheon. Zhang was amazing in the AIBA Pro Boxing and won the Cycle I one year ago which was enough for him to get a ticket to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
China’s best Lightweight class (60 kg) boxer Shan Jun used up his last chance in the World Olympic Qualification Event in Baku with his bronze. Veteran Hu Qianxun qualified for the Games in the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event in Qian’an where he won the Box-off of the Light Welterweight class (64 kg).
China’s new Welterweight class (69 kg) boxer Liu Wei was bronze medallist at the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships which was his career highlight. Zhao Minggang defeated seeded boxers in the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event in Qian’an and his efforts were enough to get a spot for Rio. China’s eleventh boxer in the Olympic Games will be 21-year-old Yu Fengkai at the Heavyweight class (91 kg).