After an intense eleven days featuring a total of 225 bouts, the 19th Asian Games boxing tournament concluded today at the Hangzhou Gymnasium. The final day saw champions crowned in the Women’s 57kg, 66kg categories, and the Men’s 51kg, 57kg, 80kg, and +92kg weight divisions.
In the first gold medal match of the day, the Women’s 57kg event saw Chinese Taipei’s Yu Ting LIN facing Kazakistan’s Karina IBRAGIMOVA. The 2018 Asian Games bronze medalist LIN dominated for three rounds and earning 10/9 decisions across her scorecard imposing a commanding 5-0 decision on her Kazakh opponent. Chinese Taipei’s boxer became the first gold medalist in boxing at the Asian Games.
After the match, LIN expressed her feelings: “Overall, I feel I’ve done pretty well. Like I said yesterday, I never felt in such great form before. This period, my preparation for competition has been quite successful. This whole year, my results haven’t been great. I’m thankful that my family have been so willing to believe in me, to give me resources to follow my dreams. It’s only with their help that I can win this gold medal. This is another experience collected in life. I said I’ll see you guys in the final. I’ll see you guys next in Paris.”
In the Women’s 66kg class, People’s Republic of China Liu YANG secured the fourth gold medal for her country at the boxing tournament of the 19th Asian Games by defeating Thailand’s Janjaem SUWANNAPHENG by unanimous decision. YANG advanced in the competition by defeating India’s Arundhati CHOUDHARY and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Hyosun HWANG with two 5:0 scores and Chinese Taipei’s Nien Chin CHEN by 3:2. In the gold medal match, she gave it all, using her skills and strong jabs to get the win.
After winning the medal YANG expressed her emotions: “I’m excited and happy. Because the gold medal was not easy to come by and there was a lot of heartache in it. I’m still very happy.”
On the upcoming participation at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games she added: “The gold medal at the Paris Olympics is going to be even tougher, it’s a huge event that the whole world is watching, and it’s probably going to require a lot more effort and a lot more hard work and a lot more grinding in the training. It’s only through continued hard work that I will be able to fight for the gold.”
Moments later, Hasanboy DUSMATOV from Uzbekistan, who claimed the Silver in the previous Asian Games edition, unanimously defeated Thitisan PANMOT (THA) in the Men’s 51kg final match to finally secure the most precious medal in this event. DUSMATOV showcased his prowess in the with a dominant performance against the young talent from Thailand.
“I have been working for this result all my career.” – DUSMATOV said after today’s victory. “There’s a time for everything. Today is my time at the Asian Games. I was working for this victory. I had to drop weight for this competition. From the start, it was difficult. I hope that I will be able to have a rest before the next competition.“ – he also added.
Abdumalik KHALOKOV of Kazakhstan displayed exceptional skill and determination as he delivered a stunning performance in the Men’s 57kg final. Facing off against Japan’s Shudai HARADA, KHALOKOV’s boxing prowess was on full display. In a thrilling contest, KHALOKOV managed to secure the gold medal by delivering a knockout blow to HARADA in the second round.
“I have been working for this victory all my career. There’s a time for everything. Today is my time at the Asian Games.” DUSMATOV said after his performance.
In the Men’s 80kg final, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Eumir Felix MARCIAL (PHI) was defeated by the local hero Tanglatihan TUOHETAERBIEKE (CHN) by 5:0. The Filipino boxer started strongly winning the first round with five 10/9 from the judges. His opponent, cheered and supported by the home crowd, counterattacked in the second and in the third round with impressive punching to get the victory. TUOHETAERBIEKE conquered the fifth gold medal for People’s Republic of China in the boxing tournament as well as the first in the Male category at the Asian Games after 13 years.
After winning the brightest medal, he commented: ”I’m very excited, because this is the Asian Games. This is my second time taking part in Asian Games and the first time I only got fifth. This time my mood is really different. I can see my improvement and my hard work in my results. This time there is also Olympic qualification at stake. I earned qualification to the Olympics here and I’m really happy and excited about that.”
Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir JALOLOV (UZB) outscored Kazakistan’s Kamshybek KUNKABAYEV by 4:0 points in the Men’s +92kg final, leading round 1 and 2 to reach the highest step of the podium. The Uzbek boxer throughout the tournament proved to be the best in the continent in his weight category after winning the 19th Asian Games.
The Boxing Road to Paris qualification pathway will now continue at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago (CHI) to then proceed to the Pacific Games in Honiara (SOL), later this year. After the continental qualifications, two World Qualification events will take place in Busto Arsizio (Italy) from February 29 to March 12, 2024, and in Bangkok (Thailand) from May 23 to June 3, 2024.
Stay tuned for more boxing action!
Find the medallist standings in the ‘Results’ section at the bottom of the page, here.
