Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Chinese Taipei claimed titles in the Hong Kong City Box Cup

The Hong Kong City Box Cup was held in the recent week which was the first main Asian event in the international boxing map in 2017. The competition was the third edition which was held for the men elite and youth boxers in Hong Kong. Chinese Taipei’s teenage talents Tu Po Wei and Hsu Cheng Yu dominated their weight classes while Singapore’s Sayyid Qabeer Shah Bin Mahmud continued his winning path which he began in 2016.
Hong Kong Boxing Association gave chance for the region’s best boxers to raise their experiences in the competition. This is a new event in the Asian boxing map which was hosting by the Hong Kong Boxing Association only the third time after launching the competition two years ago in 2015.
Host of the competition Hong Kong could not get any gold medals on home soil in the last edition of the event in 2016 but their boxers could raise their international experiences. Hong Kong’s top athletes were in the competition and planning and did better performance this time claiming two titles in the front of the home crowd. The competition was held according to the new AIBA rules using all of the 5 judges to select the winners.
Their neighbouring Macau confirmed its participation firstly and the small country sent two boxers to the event. China, Chinese Taipei and Singapore also sent boxers to the 2017 Hong Kong City Box Cup where four nations were able to get titles in the ten weight classes. Youth boxers could compete in three categories while elite athletes in seven weight classes in the Hong Kong City Cup.
Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Cheng Yu was quarter-finalist in the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in November and lost to only eventual winner Sachin Siwach Singh of India. Chinese Taipei’s 17-year-old top talent fought at the flyweight (52kg) this time and dominated his final against Choi Kai Ming of Macau.
Hong Kong’s first gold medal was achieved by Gurung Ashish at the youth bantamweight (56kg) where he was able to beat Chinese Taipei’s Chung Cheng Chung in a narrow bout. The third gold medal among the youth boxers was won by China’s Ling Yunjie who stopped Hong Kong’s Lin Wei Xin in the final of the lightweight (60kg). The referee confirmed his RSC success in the third round of their gold medal bout.
China’s 19-year-old Wen Zifeng won the title in the Hong Kong City Cup in 2015 and also in 2016 and the double champion was among the participants of the elite light flyweight (49kg) this time as well. The Chinese youngster had another teenage opponent in the final, Singapore’s Commonwealth Youth Games quarter-finalist Prithiv Raaj Elansharan but Wen was able to solve that tactical job in Hong Kong.
Chinese Taipei’s FISU World University Boxing Championships silver medallist 19-year-old Tu Po Wei competed at the flyweight (52kg) in Hong Kong and proved he is better than the host nation’s Tam Chun Hin in the final of the event. The final verdict was 4:1 to Tu Po Wei which also shows the development of the Hong Kong boxer.
Hong Kong’s second gold medal was delivered by Cheung Shun Hang who outpointed Macau’s Micael Ferreras Olfindo in the final of the lightweight (60kg). China’s gold medals after Wen Zifeng were achieved by Han Xu at the bantamweight (56kg) and Gao Song at the welterweight (69kg).
Singapore’s elite boxing team has been preparing for the Southeast Asian Games and all of their four talents advanced to the finals in the Hong Kong City Cup. Among them Leong Jun Hao defeated Chinese Taipei’s Mai Chia Hao in the final of the light welterweight (64kg) and 21-year-old Sayyid Qabeer Shah Bin Mahmud was too strong for China’s two-time Hong Kong City Cup winner Guo Yingjie.

Winners in the 3rd Hong Kong City Cup
Youth 52kg: Hsu Cheng Yu, Chinese Taipei
Youth 56kg: Gurung Ashish, Hong Kong
Youth 60kg: Ling Yunjie, China
Elite 49kg: Wen Zifeng, China
Elite 52kg: Tu Po Wei, Chinese Taipei
Elite 56kg: Han Xu, China
Elite 60kg: Cheung Shun Hang, Hong Kong
Elite 64kg: Leong Jun Hao, Singapore
Elite 69kg: Gao Song, China
Elite 75kg: Sayyid Qabeer Shah Bin Mahmud, Singapore