6 years ago on this day – India’s icon Mary Kom won the final in the 2014 Asian Games and Kazakhstan topped the medal table

Kazakhstan topped the team rankings after the finals of the 17^th Asian Games which was held in Incheon, South Korea six years ago on this day. The host nation of the Asian Games, the South Korean men boxers claimed two gold medals in the front of the local boxing fans. Mongolia was hunting for their first ever gold medal in the history of the Asian Games and their strong athlete, Dorjnyambuu Otgondalai was able to accomplish their main goal in Incheon.

Altogether 216 elite boxers from 34 nations attended in the Incheon 2014 Asian Games which was slightly higher than in the previous Guangzhou edition. The participating countries at the Incheon 2014 Asian Games were the followings: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, DPR Korea, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Chinese Taipei, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The youngest competitor of the entire tournament was Chinese Taipei’s AIBA Women’s Youth World Champion talented Lin Yu Ting who will be celebrating her 19^th birthday only in December. The youngest male boxer was Korea’s Ham Sang Myeong who finally bagged the gold medal at the bantamweight (56kg).

Joining to the host nation China, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan competed with maximum number of thirteen athletes in the 2014 Asian Games. The highest number of athletes took part in the men’s lightweight c(60kg) where 24 boxers fought for the medals. Kazakhstan’s Daniyar Yeleussinov was the lone boxer who could defend his throne after the 2010 Guangzhou edition.

The boxing tournament of the female part of the Asian Games was 37 contests in three weight classes in Incheon. Among them only five ended before the final bell which means the difference between the athletes were small. The gold medals went to China, India and DPR Korea while the most progressed Asian country was Vietnam which nation secured two valuable female bronze medals in Incheon.

India’s Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte was there when women’s boxing was born in the year of 2001 when she has claimed silver in the first edition of the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Scranton, United States. Following that she won five golds in the further editions of the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and four top positions in the history of the ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Boxing Championships since 2003. Her final opponent was Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova but Mary Kom was too experienced for the Central Asian girl. China’s Yin Junhua and DPR Korea’s Jang Un Hui won the further two women weight classes in Incheon.

Korea’s Shin Jong Hun was silver medallist at the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Korean athlete returned to the world of boxing with full training sessions short after his unsuccessful London 2012 Olympic Games. Shin had to meet with Kazakhstan’s defending AIBA World Champion Birzhan Zhakipov in the final of the light flyweight (49kg). Shin Jong Hun used attacking style against the taller Kazakh star and won all of the rounds in their remarkable final.  

Following London 2012 Olympian Ilyas Suleimenov of Kazakhstan’s success at the flyweight (52kg), South Korea’s AIBA Junior World Championships bronze medallist Ham Sang Myeong recognized the main surprise of the Asian Games. He was the youngest male competitor of the entire Asian Games in Incheon who was able to eliminate strong favourites of the bantamweight (56kg) such as Mongolia’s London 2012 Olympics silver medallist Tugstsogt Nyambayar, Kazakhstan’s AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Kairat Yeraliyev and China’s 2010Asian Games silver medallist Zhang Jiawei during his road to his unexpected gold medal.  

Mongolia’s Dorjnyambuu Otgondalai was one of the favourites of the lightweight (60kg) in the Incheon 2014 Asian Games and he defeated Japan’s Satoshi Shimizu and Philippines’ Charly Suarez in the final stages of the event to catch his nation’s historical gold medal. Thailand’s Wuttichai Masuk was bronze medallist in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou at the age of 20 which he changed into gold when he defeated Korea’s new sensation Lim Hyun Chul in the final of the light welterweight (64kg).

Kazakhstan’s boxing idol, defending AIBA World Champion and ASBC Asian Champion Daniyar Yeleussinov arrived to Incheon as titleholder of the Asian Games. Since his first gold medal in Guangzhou he moved up to the welterweight (69kg) but controlled his final over Uzbekistan’s 19-year-old Israil Madrimov. Yeleussinov has done virtuoso style of boxing, enjoyed the whole battle and defended his throne in Incheon.

Kazakhstan’s defending AIBA World Champion and ASBC Asian Champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly eliminated his main rival, India’s Asian Games winner Vikas Krishan Yadav in the semi-finals of the middleweight (75kg) and continued his winning path against Jordan’s National Champion Odai Riyad Al-Hindawi. Kazakhstan’s next gold medal was achieved by Adilbek Niyazymbetov at the light heavyweight (81kg) who dominated his final over South Korea’s Kim Hyeong Kyu.

Anton Pinchuk delivered the next success for Kazakhstan at the heavyweight (91kg) where he defeated former Asian Games winner Ali Mazaheri of Iran. Kazakhstan’s London 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallist Ivan Dychko accomplished also his target getting the gold medal of the super heavyweight (+91kg). Dychko’s final opponent was Iran’s Jassem Delavari who claimed bronze in the 2006 Asian Games but the Kazakh boxer landed the better punches in their title bout.

List of the winners in the Incheon 2014 Asian Games
Women’s 51kg: Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte, India
Women’s 60kg: Yin Junhua, China
Women’s 75kg: Jang Un Hui, DPR Korea
Men’s 49kg: Shin Jong Hun, South Korea
Men’s 52kg: Ilyas Suleimenov, Kazakhstan
Men’s 56kg: Ham Sang Myeong, South Korea
Men’s 60kg: Dorjnyambuu Otgondalai, Mongolia
Men’s 64kg: Wuttichai Masuk, Thailand
Men’s 69kg: Daniyar Yeleussinov, Kazakhstan
Men’s 75kg: Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, Kazakhstan
Men’s 81kg: Adilbek Niyazymbetov, Kazakhstan
Men’s 91kg: Anton Pinchuk, Kazakhstan
Men’s +91kg: Ivan Dychko, Kazakhstan

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