World Olympic Qualification Event – Day5 Report

Strong Asian performance at the Middleweight in the World Olympic Qualification Event on Day5

The World Olympic Qualification Event continued with the fifth competition day in Baku, Azerbaijan where four sessions were held the Asian boxers did strong performance at the Middleweight class (75 kg). India’s Devendro Singh Laishram and Iran’s Salar Gholami are already in the quarter-finals in Baku.

Light Flyweight class (49 kg):

India’s Devendro Singh Laishram was semi-finalist in the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event in Qian’an but lost his Box-off. The Indian boxer had to meet with Argentina’s Leandro Blanc in the last 16 and began their contest better than his South American rival. Singh controlled the bout from the first seconds and advanced to the quarter-finals of the category as the lone Asian boxer. His next opponent will be South Africa’s Sibusiso Bandla who surprisingly defeated South Korea’s Lee Ye Chan.

Bantamweight class (56 kg):

Jordan’s Mohammad Abdelaziz Al-Wadi was bronze medallist in the 2011 ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Incheon and returned after a serious injury. Jordan’s veteran boxer met with Chinese Taipei’s Lin Sheng Ling who was a competitive rival for him in Baku on Day 5. Lin was able to start the bout better with quick combinations but Al-Wadi changed his rhythm in the second and his condition was enough good to win the whole bout.
South Korea’s Incheon 2014 Asian Games winner Ham Sang Myeong was seeded as No.3 in this weight class but he had to do his very best against Moldova’s Veaceslav Gojan who was bronze medallist at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The Moldovan veteran was such a competitive rival for Ham but the Korean used different speed in their contest. The final verdict was unanimous decision to Ham who advanced to the last 16 in Baku.
Japan’s new national team member Arashi Morisaka defeated Kenji Fujita at home and received the right to box in the main competitions in 2016. The 20-year-old Japanese boxer met with Turkmenistan’s former ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships bronze medallist Yakub Meredov today and used his physical condition to took the lead after three minutes. Morisaka kept the same level until the final bell and advanced to the last 16.
Mongolia’s Erdenebat Tsendbaatar arrived to the venue of the World Olympic Qualification Event as one of the main favourite of the category. The three-time Mongolian National Champion won the Chemistry Cup in Germany this year and did different level of boxing what Mexico’s WSB boxer Ivan Jesus Delgado tried in their contest. The 19-year-old Mongolian saved some power in the third round for later actions and can wait for his next preliminary bout tomorrow.

Middleweight class (75 kg):

Mongolia’s Narmandakh Shinebayar is a veteran boxer who turned up in the international level in 2006 but needed some years to reach the level of the best Asian athletes. The Mongolian boxer had great footwork against Spain’s Boxam Tournament winner Damian Biacho who is member of their team since 2014. Shinebayar watched his steps in the ring and his combinations reached the target several times against his strong opponent. The Mongolian boxer won their contest by split decision and advanced to the best 16 in Baku.
Iraq’s ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships bronze medallist Waheed Abderredha is a veteran boxer who returned to the national squad and proved top performance in the first preliminary round. The Iraqi boxer had a tough second opponent Germany’s APB hope Xhek Paskali who was semi-finalist in the AIBA European Olympic Qualification Event. Abderredha was aggressive in the bout and his attacking style caused a clear success for him against such a big name.
Iran’s Siavash Omidi replaced ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships bronze medallist Sajad Mehrabi in the national team but he was enough strong to control his bout against Saint Vincent & Grenadine’s Keithland King who trains in Barbados. The 21-year-old Iranian moved down from the Light Heavyweight class (81 kg) therefore the strength of his punches were really serious in the contest. Omidi was not enough quick in the last round but finally he was able to win the bout by unanimous decision.
South Korea’s Lee Dong Yun competed in the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event in Qian’an but he could not qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The 23-year-old Korean was more accurate than his opponent in Baku, Pakistan’s National Champion Tanveer Ahmad and advanced to the last 16. Lee will now meet for the quarter-finals with another Asian boxer, Iran’s Siavash Omidi.
Turkmenistan’s Arslanbek Achilov was the favourite against Chinese Taipei’s Kan Chia Wei who competed in the AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event in Qian’an and also in the ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships in Pavlodar. The Central Asian boxer controlled the bout from the first round against his 18-year-old rival who suffered a loss to Turkmenistan’s Nuryagdy Nuryagdyyev in Pavlodar and now in Baku he failed to beat Achilov.
India’s former Asian Games winner and London 2012 Olympian Vikas Krishan Yadav used his last APB contest as active preparation for the World Olympic Qualification Event. Vikas Krishan had height advantage against Japan’s Makoto Takahashi and he used up his physical skills to stop his aggressive opponent. The Indian boxer won their contest by unanimous decision and advanced to the last 16 as sixth Asian competitor.

Heavyweight class (91 kg):

Iran’s former ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships silver medallist Salar Gholami eliminated Hungary’s Gergo Savoly in the first preliminary round and began his contest better than Ukraine’s WSB hope Dmytro Lisovyi. The Iranian boxer was able to keep the distance in the first two rounds and his efforts were enough to beat his second European rival in the World Olympic Qualification Event.
South Korea’s former ASBC Asian Confederation Champion Kim Hyeong Kyu proved brave boxing against Morocco’s Abdeldjalil Abouhamada but he suffered a loss to the North African WSB boxer. The South Korean boxer moved up to the Heavyweight class (91 kg) only this year and could not adopt the level of the punches so quickly.