Twenty-five quarter-final contests were in the official program of the second day at the ASBC Asian Men’s & Women’s Elite Boxing Championships in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates where the winners are now guaranteed medallists. India’s Shiva Thapa and Kazakhstan’s Vassiliy Levit are the first male boxers with five medals in the history of the tournament.
The following 17 nations are attending the championships: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Laos, Mongolia, Philippines, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. Altogether 150 boxers including 47 women are competing for the medals and money prizes in Dubai.
Mongolia and Uzbekistan won the first guaranteed medals in Dubai
Mongolia’s Unubold Orkhontungalag has never competed in such a major event as the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships but after two days of boxing, he is a guaranteed medallist in Dubai. The Mongolian light flyweight (49kg) boxer eliminated Sri Lanka’s Sajeewa Nuwan on an opening day and continued his winning path against Kyrgyzstan’s Mirlan Turkbay Uulu. His 31-year-old Kyrgyz opponent found the rhythm against the Mongolian at the beginning but it was too late, therefore, the younger Mongolian achieved the first guaranteed medal in the event.
Uzbekistan’s defending champion, the 27-year-old Nodirjon Mirzakhmedov did an impressive first round against Iraq’s teenager, Mousa Jaffar Hashim, in the second contest of the light flyweight (49kg) on Day 2. The Uzbek landed excellent right-handed hooks which reached the young Iraqi boxer several times in the second and third rounds. Mirzakhmedov proved fantastic rhythm and dominated the second part of the contest against his tiring Iraqi opponent. The Uzbek star continued his winning path after the Governor Cup which he won in St. Petersburg, Russia one month ago.
Philippines’ two young talents won medals in Dubai
The Philippines has impressive traditions in the men’s light flyweight (49kg), and their new 20-year-old talent, Mark Lester Durens arrived from the Misamis Oriental region to Dubai. He began boxing in 2014 but he never competed on the international stage yet. The Filipino was smaller than his quarter-final opponent from Kuwait, Mansour Khalefah, but he used his aggressive attacks to reduce the fighting distance. His hooks were immediately dangerous and after the standing counts, the Hungarian referee stopped their unequal quarter-final.
“This was my first ever contest out of the Philippines and I enjoyed it so much. I was nervous before the start and excited but I could do my best. I am so happy to win this contest ended so quickly and I am expecting a good next fight,” commented his success smiley Mark Lester Durens.
His fellow, Junmilardo Ogayre is also a young talent but he competed already in a few international events in Iran, China and some other countries. The Filipino bantamweight (56kg) talent met with Sri Lanka’s Rukmal Prasanna in the battle of the boxers who were born in 1999. Ogayre overcame the brave Sri Lankans in the attacks and after Durens, he is also a guaranteed medallist in Dubai.
India’s Shiva Thapa and Kazakhstan’s Vasiliy Levit are five-time medallists
India’s Shiva Thapa joined the international events as a junior boxer in 2009 and he won his gold medal at the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman eight years ago. The Indian veteran achieved other medals in Bangkok, Tashkent and once again in the Thai capital. He worked hard to get his fifth-in-a-row semi-final place. Thapa landed good punches in the first round but his Kuwaiti opponent, the most experienced boxer in their team, Nader Obah also performed a few nice jabs.
“This is my fifth medal in the history of the championships and many people followed my journey since Amman 2013. My Kuwaiti opponent was strong, he had powerful punches, which came to head several times, and I had to be careful the whole bout. I am looking forward to my semi-final against the defending champion,” India’s 28-year-old Shiva Thapa said emotionally.
Kazakhstan’s three-time ASBC Asian Champion Vassiliy Levit and Iran’s Ehsan Rouzbahani, both 33-year-old veteran boxers, began their campaigns in the 2000s. Both opened the first round with an excellent rhythm. The Iranian tried to catch the speedy Kazakh heavyweight (91kg) star. Levit was smarter in the last round which was a key one in their quarter-final and the Kazakh earned his fifth medal in the history of the event.
Sultonalieva and Kyzaibay are among the first women medallists
The first female medal of the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships was achieved by Uzbekistan’s Gulasal Sultonalieva. The 22-year-old talent eliminated Sri Lanka’s Rashmika Ilangarathna in the light flyweight (48kg). Kazakhstan’s two-time AIBA Women’s World Champion Nazym Kyzaibay had a tough battle against Uzbekistan’s Tursunoy Rakhimova but she managed to win that difficult contest, therefore, she remained her gold medal chances in the women’s flyweight (51kg).
Day 3 schedule at the 2021 ASBC Asian Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships
Twenty-four quarter-finals are scheduled in the upcoming third competition day of the ASBC Asian Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships. Boxers in the men’s flyweight (52kg), lightweight (60kg), welterweight (69kg), middleweight (75kg), light heavyweight (81kg) and super heavyweight (+91kg) will be competing for the medals tomorrow.
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