Teenagers won titles in the Tehran 1974 Asian Games where South Korea and Iran were the bests

The 1974 edition of the Asian Games was held the capital city of Iran in Tehran which was the first multisport event the Western Asian region. The boxing tournament of the 1974 Asian Games was held in the Aryamehr Sport Complex in Tehran between 5 and 14 September. DPR Korea’s first gold medal was achieved by teenage talent Gu Yong Jo in Tehran where South Korea and Iran were the bests.
The event was the seventh Asian Games and the sixth boxing tournament in the history of the multisport event. South Korea topped the medal rankings in 1962, in 1966, in 1970 and their boxers ranked as No.1 also in 1974.
The first boxing tournament was held in 7 men weight classes in Manila but from the second edition boxers could attend in 10 different categories. The Olympic Council of Asia raised the number of the weight classes up to 11 in the 1966 edition. Boxers could attend in the 1974 Tehran edition from the 48kg up to the +81kg weight categories.
Altogether 90 boxers from 14 countries attended in the boxing tournament of the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran. The participating countries in the 1974 editions were the following nations: DPR Korea, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
South Korea continued its hegemony in the boxing tournaments of the Asian Games but Iran’s three gold medals were also impressive from the host country. DPR Korea won two titles in the 1974 edition while the last one was won by Japan in Tehran. India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand also took medals in the event.
South Korea’s first gold medal in 1974 was achieved by a teenager, Park Chan Hee who was later a successful professional boxer. The 17-year-old light flyweight (48kg) talent was too strong for Iran’s Abdolreza Ansari in the final and following that Park’s teammates won four further titles for South Korea’s boxing.
DPR Korea’s Olympic Games bronze medallist Gu Yong Jo defeated South Korea’s Asian Champion Hwang Chul Soon in the final of the flyweight (51kg) securing his nation’s first title. Japan’s lone title in Tehran was acquired by Hitoshi Ishigaki at the bantamweight (54kg) while defending champion Ricardo Fortaleza of Philippines’ lost his quarter-final bout.
Iran’s Asian Boxing Championships bronze medallist Armenian-descent strong Masis Hambarsumian secured a gold medal for the host country with superb performance in the final of the light heavyweight (81kg). The current President of the Singapore Boxing Association Mr. Syed Abdul Kadir attended at the light flyweight (48kg) of the 1974 Asian Games.

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