Uzbekistan and Japan claimed altogether seven gold medals at the Korotkov Memorial Tournament

The Korotkov Memorial Tournament was held in the city of Khabarovsk in Russia which event was used as preparations for the upcoming top competitions. The Asian boxers achieved altogether seven gold medals in the Korotkov Memorial Tournament and among them Uzbekistan claimed four while Japan three titles.

The Korotkov Memorial Tournament is a traditional elite competition for the female and male boxers and Khabarovsk is the host every year. The city is located in the Russian Far East near to the Chinese border on the front of the Amur river. A former boxer, Mr. Konstantin Korotkov was the Hero of the Soviet Union in the World War II and the international event was named after him.

Many of the top nations such as Russia, Poland, Morocco, Belarus, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Sweden, Serbia and others sent their teams to the new edition of the Korotkov Memorial Tournament. Among the Asian nations, Japan sent their best line-ups to the event but Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and South Korea also attended in Khabarovsk.

Japan’s AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Tsukimi Namiki had a tough opponent in the final of the flyweight (51kg), Russia’s European Champion Ekaterina Paltseva but she managed to win that contest with energetic boxing. Her Tokyo Olympian teammate, two-time AIBA Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships bronze medallist 21-year-old Sena Irie impressed in the next female final at the featherweight (57kg) and defeated Poland’s Monika Serafin.

The first Uzbek gold medal was achieved by National Champion Mironshokh Ibragimov who claimed bronze at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games. The former WSB boxer knocked out Dominican Republic’s Rodrigo Marte in a quick flyweight (52kg) final. Following Ibragimov’s impressive KO, his 20-year-old teammate Khurshidbek Rasuljonov walked over to the gold of the men’s lightweight (60kg).

Mujibullo Tursunov was silver medallist in the Uzbekistan National Championships and showed his strength in the international stage and quickly won a gold medal in Khabarovsk where he was able to beat Japan’s Shunsuke Kitamoto at the light welterweight (63kg). The fourth Uzbek gold medal was achieved by Lazizbek Mullajanov at the super heavyweight (+91kg) after beating Russia’s Svyatoslav Teterin. Japan’s ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships silver medallist Sewon Okazawa defeated all of his opponents at the welterweight (69kg) in Khabarovsk. He used his strength to stop the younger rivals in the Korotkov Memorial Tournament and proved that he is in top shape. The 26-year-old Japanese kept his focus until the final gong against Russia’s Yuriy Osipov and bagged his nation’s third gold medal in the event.

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