Longer preliminary sessions were held on the third competition day of the boxing tournament of the Asian Games in Incheon, Korea, with the winners of the bouts advancing to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games.

Bout of the day
Kazakhstan’s London 2012 Olympic silver medallist, and two-time AIBA World Boxing Championships silver medallist Adilbek Niyazymbetov is the biggest favourite of the Light Heavyweight class (81 kg) in the Asian Games.

His first opponent was Syria’s Alaaldin Ghossoun who was a member of the ‘AIBA Road to Almaty Program’ last year, and won two bouts in the AIBA World Boxing Championships.

The 22-year-old boxer, who trains in the Army, is a real hope for Syria in the upcoming years.

Niyazymbetov started the bout with excellent combinations, while Ghossoun’s skills were enough to be a competitive rival for Niyazymbetov.

The Syrian boxer was almost at the same level as the Kazakh fighter in the second round, but he tired in the last round, which resulted in a win for Niyazymbetov, who will now meet with China’s AIBA World Boxing Championships competitor Zhang Aolin in the quarter-finals.

Team of the day
The Filipino boxers were unlucky in the drawing where almost all of their athletes had to fight in the first preliminary round in Incheon.

Excluding Dennis Galvan, all of their athletes were able win on the first two days, while both of their competing boxers won their bouts on the third competition day.

Southeast Asian Games winner Mario Fernandez eliminated Thailand’s strong Donchai Thathi in the first round, and continued his winning path on Day 3.

The 21-year-old Bantamweight class (56 kg) boxer was too strong for Nepal’s Asian Games quarter-finalist veteran Puran Rai, and secured his place in the quarter-finals where he will be fighting against India’s ASBC Asian Continental Champion Shiva Thapa for a medal.

Philippines’ second boxer who fought on Friday was their WSB athlete Charlie Suarez, who found the best fighting distance in the second round against India’s two-time Olympian veteran Akhil Kumar in Incheon.

The Southeast Asian Lightweight class (60 kg) boxer is famous for his speedy attacks, and controlled the second part of their close bout in advancing to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games.

Surprise of the day
Tajikistan’s AIBA Junior World Champion Asror Vohidov was awarded the Best AIBA Junior Boxer of the Year 2011 trophy, and almost qualified for the London 2012 Olympics Games before his 17th birthday.

Vohidov rejoined the elite level this January, and won two events including the Ismail Hamzaaliyev Memorial Tournament.

The 19-year-old Central Asian boxer met with Jordan’s ASBC Asian Continental Championships bronze medallist veteran Mohammad Abdelaziz Al-Wadi in the first preliminary round.

Jordan’s boxer only returned to the sport this year, but began the bout with some great combinations.

Vohidov’s attacks were more successful in the second frame, and the result of their bout all depended on the performance of the final round.

Both did their very best, but finally Al-Wadi’s hand was raised in a small surprise.

Ones to watch
Mongolia’s London 2012 Olympic Games silver medallist Tugstsogt Nyambayar moved up to the Bantamweight class (56 kg) shortly after the Games, and travelled as a gold medal contender to the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships where he had a surprise loss to Azerbaijan’s eventual winner Javid Chalabiyev.

Nyambayar has now acclimatized to the rhythm of the weight class, and is now proving the same top form that he showed two years ago.

The Mongolian star subdued Turkmenistan’s Sidney Jackson Memorial Tournament bronze medallist Yakub Meredov in his opening bout, and will now meet Korea’s AIBA Junior World Championships bronze medallist 19-year-old Ham Sang Myeong in the quarter-finals.

Jordan’s Obada Mohammad Al-Kasbeh was a silver medallist at the 2013 ASBC Asian Continental Championships in Amman on home soil at the age of 19, and caused one of the biggest surprises of the first competition day in Incheon when he eliminated Kazakhstan’s AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Berik Abdrakhmanov.

Al-Kasbeh continued his winning path against Pakistan’s Commonwealth Games competitor 19-year-old Ahmad Ali.

After the referee stopped the bout in the third rounm Jordan’s new hero can now prepare for his next top level contest against Korea’s Han Soon Chul.

Uzbekistan’s AIBA World Boxing Championships Oybek Mamazulunov defeated Asia’s top boxer Kazakhstan’s Adilbek Niyazymbetov in the final of the Light Heavyweight class (81 kg) at the 2013 ASBC Asian Continental Championships in Amman, Jordan.

He is planning another strong competition in Incheon, where he made the first successful step to final glory.

The 25-year-old boxer knocked down Mongolia’s Sandagsuren Erdenebayar in the opening round, and dominated all of the rounds by large margin.

Mamazulunov won the bout by impressive performance and will face Lebanon’s Najd Salloum for the guaranteed medal.

Stat/Fact of the day
Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Philippines and Uzbekistan had a perfect day in Incheon, as all of their competing athletes advanced to quarter-finals of the Asian Games.

The boxers from Pakistan exceeded the previous expectations of the first three competition days, when their boxers won four out of their five bouts in the Games.

Tomorrow’s program
The longest competition program will be held in the Asian Games on Saturday where the 32 bouts have been divided into two sessions.

Share on Facebook

Tweet