Surprises in the thirteenth session of the Asian Games
Several boxers delivered surprises in the thirteenth session of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China today. Eight of the winners earned medals in the event and two of them have qualified for the Olympic Games.
Kazakhstan’s ASBC Asian Champion Zhaina Shekerbekova is a small boxer at the women’s bantamweight (54kg) but she used aggressive style of boxing in the first round against India’s 20-year-old Preeti. The Indian proved better performance in the second part of the contest and surprisingly she was able to turn back their quarter-final bout and Preeti qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
China’s defending Asian Games winner Chang Yuan is an excellent boxer but she had to face Chinese Taipei’s two-time World Champion and Olympic Games bronze medallist Huang Hsiao Wen. The local girl enjoyed the support of the home crowd and she proved her best performance just in time this year. The taller Huang moved away from the Chinese attacks but Chang’s pressure delivered for her a surprise success and an Olympic quota.
Thailand’s Baison Manikon, the Tokyo Olympian and the ASBC Asian U22 Champion, used her height advantage against Mongolia’s Erdenetuya Enkhbaatar in the first round of the women’s middleweight (75kg). The 22-year-old Thai had even better performance in the second and third rounds, therefore she secured a well-deserved place in the semi-finals easily in the Asian Games.
India’s Lovlina Borgohain, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist and the defending World Champion at the women’s middleweight (75kg), was the strong favourite against South Korea’s Seong Su Yeon in the next bout. The Indian is a tall, experienced and technician boxer in this weight class and controlled all of the three rounds from her safest distance in this quarter-final bout.
Philippines’ Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Carlo Paalam has just moved up to the featherweight (57kg) before the start of the Asian Games. The Filipino star opened the first round effectively against Kyrgyzstan’s historic World Championships bronze medallist Munarbek Seyitbek Uulu and he took the advantage on the scorecards. The Kyrgyz was highly competitive in the second and third rounds but Paalam secured his triumph which mean he will meet Uzbekistan’s No.1, Abdumalik Khalokov in the quarter-finals.
Turkmenistan’s Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov is one of the new sensations at the men’s light middleweight (71kg) who defeated more experienced boxers during his road to the quarter-finals. The 21-year-old Turkmen had difficulties in the first round against Mongolia’s Byambatsogt Tuguldur but he switched into a fantastic tempo and dominated the second round. The Mongolian ringside abandoned this contest in the third round and Nurmuhammedov is now a medallist in Hangzhou. Kazakhstan’s Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist and the silver medallist from the other main championships, Kamshybek Kunkabayev won the first and second rounds against Bahrain’s Denys Latypov and he became medallist at the super heavyweight (+92kg). The second semi-finalist in this weight class is India’s Narender Berwal who defeated Iran’s Iman Ramezanpour winning this contest unanimously.
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