Afghanistan, Palestine and Syria teams deliver at ASBC Championships in Tashkent
May 4th, 2017 / IBA
This year’s ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, have been a welcome focus for athletes from AIBA’s National Federations where boxing, its strong human values and demands for individual strength continue to provide opportunities and ambition for those living within the context of difficult domestic landscapes. In a display of solidarity to their fellow member NFs, hosts Uzbekistan covered the costs of the Afghan and Syrian teams.
This year’s ASBC Championships is one of five direct qualification tournaments for the Hamburg 2017 AIBA World Championships, and Syria and Afghanistan both delivered best-ever results, while Palestine’s Middleweight (75kg) Qasim Abudabaat won the country’s first bout in the competition, proving himself a strong prospect for the future. Syria’s Alaaldin Ghoussoun and Mohamad Mulayes progressed to Friday’s Semi-Finals, and now Hamburg is firmly in their sights.
Syrian pair through to Semi-Finals
Alaaldin Ghoussoun hails from a talented boxing family, and his progress to the ASBC Semi-Finals, along with Mohamad Mulayes (+91kg), ensures both a podium finish and a third appearance at the AIBA World Championships for the country’s Heavyweight (91kg) hero, while his younger brother Ahmad (69kg) could still qualify via a box-off at the weekend.
“I am so pleased to have seen all five of our boxers advance to the Quarter-Finals here in Tashkent, our best-ever performance in the Asian Championships,” said Syrian Boxing Federation President Mr Issa Al Nassar. “It is with great pride that we will be represented at this year’s AIBA World Championships.”
Afghanistan’s boxers also blazed a trail in Tashkent, their achievements similarly magnified against a challenging backdrop in the country’s boxing heartlands of Kabul and Herat. Two years ago in Tashkent, the country came away from the Asian Confederation Junior Championships with two bronze medals, and representing the national side this year at Elite level were Bantamweight (56kg) Mohammad Eshaq Zai, Lightweight (60kg) Mohammad Nooristani, Welterweight (69kg) Allah Dad Rahimi and Light Flyweight (49kg) Ramish Rahmani.
