Chang, Oralbay, Dusmatov and Mullojonov are finalists at the Olympic Games

Chang Yuan, Nurbek Oralbay, Hasanboy Dusmatov and Lazizbek Mullojonov all advanced to the finals of the Paris Olympics.

Thirteen weight categories, 248 top boxers, 124 female and 124 male athletes from 69 nations will compete in the boxing event of the Paris Olympics.

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, China, Chinese Taipei, India, the Philippines, Tajikistan, Jordan, Mongolia, South Korea, DPR Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan and Palestine will have boxers in the Olympic Games from the Asian continent.

Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu Ting and Bulgaria’s Svetlana Kamenova both have the similar fighting style in the women’s featherweight (57kg). The two-time World Champion Lin stopped Kamenova’s attacks with her right-handed shots and she used her distance better in the first round. Kamenova moved forward more in the second and third rounds but this was perfect for Lin’s long hands and she earned Chinese Taipei’s third medal in Paris.

Li Qian and Lovlina Borgohain both are medallists from the Tokyo Olympics and claimed gold medals in the Women’s World Boxing Championships as well. The Chinese boxer overcame the Indian in most of her attacks and she won this contest by 4:1 slit decision. The two main favourites of the women’s middleweight (75kg) were surprisingly eliminated in Paris in the preliminary stage therefore the way is open for Li Qian to achieve another highlight.

DPR Korea’s best boxer, Pang Chol Mi switched her stance several times in her women’s bantamweight (54kg) meeting against China’s Chang Yuan in this unique repeat match. Pang returned to the boxing events with a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games and she moved forward more than in her last contests. Three out of the five judges favoured Chang Yuan due to her counter-attacks and she made a surprise success in this semi-final bout.

Kazakhstan’s Nurbek Oralbay, the defending World Champion at the men’s light heavyweight (80kg), was slightly better than Dominican Republic’s Cristian Javier Pinales in the first round. The Dominican had also good punches in the second but Oralbay had the dominance again in the third when he moved forward effectively. Nurbek Oralbay’s tactical repertoires decided their semi-final bout and he is Kazakhstan’s first finalist in Paris.

Philippines’ Nesthy Petecio, the Tokyo silver medallist and former World Champion, worked from longer distance several times in the first round against China’s Xu Zichun despite her height disadvantage in this fight. The experienced Filipina overcame her Chinese opponent who qualified for the Olympics through the last opportunity but Petecio was too strong for her in this women’s featherweight (57kg) contest.

Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov opened the first round of his semi-final against Cape Verde’s Daniel Varela De Pina relatively slowly but he had the advantage on the judges’ scorecards. The Rio Olympic Champion Uzbek was quicker than his African opponent in the second and third rounds to win this flyweight (51kg) semi-final.

Uzbekistan’s Lazizbek Mullojonov had a neighbouring rival at the men’s heavyweight (92kg) today, Tajikistan’s Davlat Boltayev, the Asian Games winner. The Uzbek was slightly better than the Tajik in the first round but Mullojonov knocked down Boltayev in the second which was a decisive moment in this semi-final. The 25-year-old Uzbek southpaw won this semi-final by 4:1 split decision and he will now meet for the title Azerbaijan’s Loren Berto Alfonso who was on the lucky end on the scores against Spain’s Emmanuel Reyes.

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