Zholdaskhan’s KO was the highlight of the day

Kazakhstan’s Azatbek Zholdaskhan is not enough experienced yet but he knocked out his semi-final opponent at the ASBC Asian U22 & Youth Boxing Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka today.

Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, French Polynesia, IBA-India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, IBA-Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam are the 23 participating nations in this championship.

New Zealand’s Roman Viney and Kyrgyzstan’s Azim Choybekov had very similar level of experiences in the previous international events and their bout was extremely close which opened the seventh competition day. The New Zealander was highly competitive for the previous ASBC medallist but the younger Kyrgyz advanced to the finals at the cruiserweight (86kg). His final opponent will be Kazakhstan’s Ibragim Betayev who had a points decision success over Afghanistan’s Mohammad Mobaser Qatee.

Kazakhstan’s heavyweight (92kg) boxer, Azatbek Zholdaskhan delivered one of the quickest triumphs of the championships when he knocked out IBA-Pakistan’s Abdullah Mujahid within less than one minute of fight. The young Kazakh advanced to the final of the competition where he will now meet for the gold medal Afghanistan’s Mujtaba Sharifi.

Kyrgyzstan had several issues in the recent 20 years at the super heavyweight (+92kg) but their 19-year-old Myrzakir Koshaliyev could be a future solution for them in long terms. The Kyrgyz met the three-years-older Aman Makhanov of Uzbekistan in the semi-final and he used his weight advantage to land the stronger shots. Koshaliyev shared his power well enough to eliminate his 22-year-old Uzbek opponent and he will now meet for the title Kazakhstan’s Yersultan Sapar who stopped Vietnam’s Doan Ngoc Minh Hieu.

Vietnam’s ASBC Asian Elite Championships silver medallist Ngo Ngoc Linh Chi used her counter-attacking style of boxing against Kazakhstan’s Akbota Bolat in the first semi-final of the women’s U22 minimumweight (48kg). The super talented Nguyen controlled the exchanges from longer distance but she suffered an injury in the second round therefore Bolat can meet for the title IBA-India’s Mahi Siwach.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tran was also silver medallist in the last edition of the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Chiang Mai and she faced Sri Lanka’s Susew Hewage Sachini Ravi Fernando in the semi-finals. The 21-year-old Vietnamese counter-attacked the brave Sri Lankan and she used her longer hands against the local girl to win this bout. Nguyen saved fuel for the final where Kazakhstan’s Gulnar Turapbay will be her last opponent in Colombo.

Tajikistan’s Fariza Yokubova and Vietnam’s Song Thi Kim Ngan met in the first semi-final at the women’s flyweight (52kg) in the seventh day of boxing. The Tajik was smaller than her Vietnamese opponent but she could not arrange her defence well enough to be successful against Song today. Vietnam’s next female talent marched to the finals of the championships and she will meet as next Kazakhstan’s Tomiris Myrzakul who kept Sri Lanka’s Susew Hewage Sachini Fernando on long. 

Saudi Arabia’s best female boxer, Yara Alamri was eliminated in the quarter-finals while her teammate, Leen Tariq Al-Alshaikh also tried to show her progress against a top opponent, Kazakhstan’s Youth World Champion Elina Bazarova. After the first round, Al-Alshaikh received some bigger jabs from Bazarova but she could be a good exemplar for all of the Saudi female pugilists for the future. Bazarova’s final opponent will be Vietnam’s Ngo Thi Mai Chuc who had a quick success against Sri Lanka’s Kariyawasam Manage Sandeepanee.

Kazakhstan’s ASBC Asian Youth Champion Viktoriya Baidukova and Vietnam’s Asian Games competitor Nguyen Huyen Tran both have strong international experiences. The two-years-younger Kazakh had better technical skills than Nguyen and Baidukova returned in the level of the Asian Championships with a strong success at the featherweight (57kg).

Tajikistan’s Khangoma Isoyeva is well-known from previous ASBC Championships therefore she started well enough against Nepal’s Narika Rai at the lightweight (60kg). The Tajik moved forward also in the second round and she landed enough punches to take the control against the Nepali talent. Isoyeva is Tajikistan’s first female finalist and she will now meet Kazakhstan’s Anar Tursynbek in the final bout.

Kazakhstan’s Aruzhan Zhangabayeva joined the U22 level this January and the 19-year-old boxer proved her fantastic talent and strength against Tajikistan’s Dilnoza Nurimova. IBA-India’s Himanshi (70kg), Kazakhstan’s Bakyt Seidish (70kg) and her teammate, the two-time ASBC Asian Youth Champion Shugyla Nalibay (75kg) all were impressive in the final part of the seventh session.

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