Uzbekistan win four gold medals at the Kulibayev Tournament

July 17th, 2015 / All

The latest instalment of the Kulibayev Tournament proved to be a very successful event in Atyrau, Kazakhstan as many excellent Asian and European boxers competed at a high level.

Bout of the finals

Dorjnyambuu Otgondalai was the 2014 Discovery of the Year in the Asian continent after he secured Mongolia’s first ever boxing title in the history of the Asian Games.

Otgondalai added Kulibayev Tournament gold to his medal collection after he defeated Tajikistan’s AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Anvar Yunusov in the semi-final, to set up a gold medal bout with Kyrgyzstan’s Great Silk Way Tournament silver medallist Akzhol Sulaymanbek Uulu.

The Mongolian star used a successful counter-attacking style in his compelling final with Uulu, and claimed the victory after three rounds of breathtaking action.

Team of the event

Uzbekistan secured four gold medals in the Kulibayev Tournament to become the most successful nation in Atyrau.

Their first gold medal was achieved by Incheon 2014 Asian Games silver medallist Shakhobiddin Zoirov who defeated Kazakhstan’s Olzhas Bayniyazov in the Flyweight (52 kg) final.

Welterweight (69 kg) Odil Aslonov then doubled Uzbekistan’s gold medal tally after he outpointed Kazakhstan’s Issatai Taimanov & Makhambet Utemisov Tournament winner Amandyk Manashev.

Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games winner and AIBA Youth World Champion Bektemir Melikuziev is a tremendous Uzbek prospect, and the 19-year-old Middleweight outperformed Russia’s Vladislav Fedyurin in their final.

Mirzohidjon Abdullayev claimed the fourth Uzbek gold at Super Heavyweight (+91 kg) as he used his strength to great effect against Jordan’s ASBC Asian Youth Continental Championships bronze medallist Hussein Iashaish.

Surprise of the event

Uzbekistan’s former ASBC Asian Continental Champion Shukhrat Abdullayev surprisingly eliminated AIBA World Championships silver medallist and two-time Olympian Elshod Rasulov in the semi-finals of the Light Heavyweight class (81 kg).

After his excellent result, Abdullayev was not able to maintain his momentum as he was subsequently stopped in the first round by Kazakhstan’s Abzal Kuttybekov in their final.

Ones to watch

Kyrgyzstan’s Sportaccord World Combat Games winner and AIBA World Boxing Championships quarter-finalist Ermek Sakenov is currently number four in the AIBA Light Welterweight (64 kg) World Rankings, and won a gold medal in Atyrau.

Sakenov eliminated Mongolia’s Military World Champion Battarsukh Chinzorig in their semi-final, before defeating Syria’s ASBC Asian Youth Continental Championships silver medallist Ahmad Ghossoun.

Another Kyrgyz boxer delivered an excellent performance when Heavyweight (91 kg) Chyngyz Borbashev knocked out Syria’s promising Alaaldin Ghossoun to earn Kyrgyzstan’s second gold medal.

Fact of the event

110 boxers took part in the Kulibayev Tournament, where top boxing nations including Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan all competed with strong line-ups, while rising countries Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan both produced great performances in the event.

Gold medal winners in Atyrau