Wu Shih Yi eliminated a top South Korean at the Olympic Games on Day1
Eighteen contests were held in the first competition day at the Paris Olympics where Chinese Taipei impressed with two victories.
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.
Huang Hsiao Wen had some unexpected losses in the previous one year and she had to compete in the last 2nd World Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event to achieve the flight ticket to Paris. The tall boxer from Chinese Taipei used her longer reach successfully against Montenegro’s young Bojana Gojkovic in the opening bout of the entire Paris Olympics and she joined the last 16 at the bantamweight (54kg).
Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong knew the environment of the Games well enough as she was quarter-finalist at the Tokyo Olympics and she did not underestimate her young rival, Serbia’s Sara Cirkovic. The Thai bantamweight (54kg) boxer opened the first round better with strong shots and she had the clear advantage on the scorecards after two rounds. The 20-year-old Youth World Champion Serbian tried to switch into a higher tempo but it was too late to beat Jitpong in this preliminary contest.
Mongolia has two female boxers in the Games, their Yesugen Oyuntsetseg was the flag bearer in the Opening Ceremony. The World bronze medallist Munguntsetseg Enkhjargal used the best strategy against Italy’s Sirine Charaabi and she dominated their women’s bantamweight (54kg) bout with heavy shots.
Vietnam qualified two boxers for the Paris Olympics which is the same strong performance from their side as in the previous Tokyo edition. Their Ha Thi Linh was the dominant boxer against Tonga’s Feofaaki Epenisa and she joined the Round of 16 at the women’s lightweight (60kg). Vo Thi Kim Anh has brilliant technical skills but she suffered a loss to India’s young Preeti at the Round of 32 in the women’s bantamweight (54kg).
Chinese Taipei’s Wu Shih Yi and South Korea’s Oh Yeon Ji faced in the first preliminary round at the women’s lightweight (60kg) in Paris. Oh earned Asian titles several times during her career but she was not enough fresh today and the younger Wu won two out of the three rounds to join the last 16.
The first preliminary round also opened at the men’s light welterweight (63.5kg) where the tightest contest was held between Jordan’s Obada Al-Kasbeh and Ireland’s Dean Clancy on Day1. The 30-year-old Al-Kasbeh used his aggressive style of boxing well enough in the first and second rounds to win the entire contest by 3:2 split decision. Kazakhstan’s Mukhammedsabyr Bazarbay Uulu also impressed in the first day of boxing, he eliminated Spain’s Oier Ibarreche in this weight class.
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