Three Vietnamese boxers shined in the fourth day at the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament
Twenty bouts were on the official schedule on the fourth competition day of the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament in Phuket today. Vietnam’s three boxers such as Tran Van Thao, Nguyen Van Duong and Vo Thi Kim Anh won their contests in the afternoon session with excellent performance.
Asian stars as India’s Amit Panghal and Philippines’ Rogen Ladon returned after a short break and both won their contests on Day4. The last part of the quarter-finals confirmed the line-ups of the remaining semi-finals which will be held after the rest day in Phuket. The first part of the semi-finals concluded in the fourth day of boxing and several of the stars advanced to the title contest in Phuket.
Altogether 130 elite boxers are attending in the Thailand Open including 74 male and 56 female athletes in Phuket. Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, India, Italy, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, New Zealand, Palestine, Philippines, Singapore, host Thailand and Vietnam are attending in the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament.
Mrs. Karina Picson of the Philippines is the Technical Delegate of the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament in Phuket where Mr. Wan Abdul Hamid of Malaysia is the Deputy TD while India’s Lenny D’Gama works as Observer and Referee & Judge Evaluator.
The Angsana Convention Hall is the venue of the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament. The Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament is a preparation event before the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships and EUBC European Elite Boxing Championships.
Saengphet and Bibossynov made brilliant bout
Thailand’s 19-year-old Thanarat Saengphet was bronze medallist at the Belgrade 2021 AIBA Men’s Elite World Boxing Championships on his first ever international competition. The Thai flyweight hope met with Kazakhstan’s defending AIBA World Champion Saken Bibossynov who eliminated his teammate, Sanzhar Tashkenbay in the preliminary stage. The two boxers met already in the quarter-finals which could be a final in the upcoming Asian Games too. Saengpeth moved lot on feet in the first and second rounds and used same virtuoso style of boxing as Bibossynov. The Kazakh southpaw opened the third round in more aggressive style of boxing but Saengphet saved his advantage until the last gong.
Rogen Ladon is back on track with a success
Philippines’ Rogen Ladon was bronze medallist at the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships and silver at the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games. The Filipino flyweight boxer received the right once again to compete in a top event and met in the quarter-finals with Chinese Taipei’s Tu Po Wei. Ladon is 29 now but he is hungry for the further successes in our sport therefore he tried to keep the control against Chinese Taipei’s experienced national team member. Rogen Ladon landed the better and stronger punches in their quarter-final bout and advanced to the semi-finals where he will now meet with Thailand’s young star Thanarat Saengphet.
Tran Van Thao eliminated a veteran Indonesian
Kornelis Kwangu Langu is the most experienced Indonesian boxer who competed in all levels of boxing excluding the Olympic Games. The Indonesian has now 10 years of international experiences and moved ahead without any stoppage against Vietnam’s Tran Van Thao in the quarter-finals of the flyweight. The Indonesian veteran pressurized his Vietnamese opponent who tried to keep Kwangu Langu on long landing lot of hooks effectively. The SEA Games silver medallist Indonesian opened the third round with tough uppercuts but Tran had better technical skills and his counter-attacks decided the contest.
India’s Asian Games winner Amit Panghal returned to the events
India’s Amit Panghal was gold medallist at the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games and at the Bangkok 2019 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships. He met with Thailand’s Thanakon Aonyaem who competed at the Fujairah 2019 ASBC Asian Junior Boxing Championships and will be turning to 19 later this year. The Thai teenager was competitive opponent for the Indian rival but the Tokyo Olympian Amit Panghal decided their contest with his quick attacks. The Indian flyweight boxer enjoyed his first contest after the unsuccessful Tokyo Olympic Games and defeated a super talented Thai teenager in Phuket.
Serik Temirzhanov and Rujakran Juntrong are semi-finalists at the featherweight
Kazakhstan’s AIBA World Boxing Championships silver medallist Serik Temirzhanov had excellent job in the first day of the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament and he continued his strong performance on Day4. The featherweight boxer landed powerful shots in the first round against Singapore’s Mohamed Hanurdeen Bin Hamid and the referee counted his Southeast Asian rival twice. Temirzhanov dominated all of the three rounds but his Singaporean rival was able to keep fighting until the last bell. In the next featherweight contest, Thailand’s Asian Games bronze medallist Rujakran Juntrong eliminated India’s tall Rohit Mor using his speed.
Vietnam’s Olympian Nguyen Van Duong controlled his quarter-final bout
Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Duong was their first male boxer who qualified for an Olympic Games and he won his opening battle in Tokyo too. The Vietnamese featherweight boxer opened the first round at the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament with powerful shots against Cambodia’s Sao Rangsey who won their recent national events in his homeland. Nguyen was quicker in the exchanges and he had several clear shots which reached the target in the first and second rounds. The Cambodian southpaw was able to show his progress in Phuket but Nguyen won their contest by unanimous decision.
Philippines’ Bautista is semi-finalist at the featherweight
Philippines’ Ian Clark Bautista won gold medal already at the Subic Bay 2013 ASBC Asian Youth Boxing Championships and he had experiences from all of the major championships excluding the Olympic Games. The Filipino featherweight boxer opened his quarter-final with tough shots against New Zealand’s Alex Mukuka and the referee had to count the Kiwi talent. The New Zealander performed better in the second and he tried to pressurize his experienced Filipino rival in the third. Mukuka proved that he is a real fighter and caught the exhausted Filipino but Bautista had enough advantage to win their quarter-final.
Italy’s Sirine Charaabi is the first finalist in Phuket
Italy’s EUBC European U22 Champion Sirine Charaabi arrived to the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament in top shape and she won her second contest against a strong rival today. The Italian bantamweight boxer became the first in Phuket who advanced to the final, following her success over Thailand’s Preedakamon Tintabthai. The Italian boxer will now meet for the title of the Thailand Open with Vietnam’s Vo Thi Kim Anh who bowed out the second Thai boxer of the weight class, Apisada Thantawa.
Thailand’s Khunatip Pidnuch stopped his rival in the evening session
Thailand’s Khunatip Pidnuch switched from Muay Thai to boxing only in 2019 but he achieved medals immediately in the international events. He claimed silver medal at the Southeast Asian Games and prepared hard in the Covid-19 period to increase his condition and technical skills. Pidnuch had only three events in 2021 but he proved amazing progress on these competitions in Russia, in Serbia and in Thailand. Pidnuch started relatively slowly against Vietnam’s newcomer Nguyen Ha Minh but his punches were decisive in the second round and won the bout by RSC.
India’s Ashish Kumar performed better on Day4
India’s ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships silver medallist Ashish Kumar moved up to the light heavyweight and he could expect a hard contest against Indonesia’s No.1 Maikhel Roberrd Muskita. The 21-year-old Indonesian almost qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games as a teenager and also changed his category in the recent months. Kumar moved more on feet especially in the second round to find the best angles and landed high number of punches against the younger Indonesian. Muskita opened the third round with more aggressive attacks but his defensive skills were not matches to the Indian boxer’s ones, therefore Ashish Kumar won their tough contest.
Monika vs. Raksat will be boxing for the women’s 48kg title
India’s National Champion Monika eliminated Philippines’ former AIBA Women’s World Champion Josie Gabuco and met in the semi-finals of the light flyweight with Vietnam’s multiple National Champion Tran Thi Diem Kieu. The Indian boxer moved back several steps before launching her counter-attacks and stopped the experienced Vietnamese talent. Monika landed several dangerous left-handed hooks and Tran was not able to stop these shots despite of her strong boxing skills. The Vietnamese girl felt uncomfortable after the multiple Indian punches and Monika’s world-class performance decided their semi-final in Phuket. Monika will be boxing for the gold medal with Thailand’s two-time AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Chuthamat Raksat who bowed out Italy’s Roberta Bonatti.
Panpatchara Somnuek and Janjaem Suwannapheng are the finalists of the light welterweight
Thailand’s Youth Olympic Games winner and ASBC Asian Youth Champion Panpatchara Somnuek amazed in the recent National Championships, she claimed gold in her first major elite event. The Thai youngster moved up to the light welterweight but she is still strong enough for that category too and amazed in her semi-final in Phuket. Somnuek finished her contest quickly, she landed powerful shots immediately against Indonesia’s Asian Games bronze medallist Huswatun Hasanah and the referee confirmed her RSC success. Somnuek will be meeting for the gold medal with her teammate, Janjaem Suwannapheng who defeated Italy’s Assunta Canfora in the second semi-final.
Don’t forget you can keep up with all of the action, news, results and photos by following ASBC on Facebook and Instagram.
ASBC website: www.asbcnews.org
ASBC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ASBC.Boxing/
ASBC Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/asbc_official/