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Sports 02/02/2008 Boxing: Uzbekistan wins four spots at the Beijing Games


Uzbekistan was the most successful nation at the tournament, winning four places, while South Korea, Thailand and China all claimed three Olympic places.

A further 19 places will be at stake in another regional qualifying tournament in Kazakhstan next month.

In all divisions except heavyweight, both finalists in this tournament received an Olympic berth, giving extra emphasis to winning semifinals.

Uzbekistan’s Sultonov Rafirjon in the light flyweight class, Sultonov Bahodirjon in the featherweight division, Mahmudov Dilshod in the welterweights and Rassulov Elshod in the middleweights all won their semifinals.

South Korea’s semifinal winners were Lee Ok-sung at flyweight, Baik Jong-sub in the lightweight class and Kim Jung-joo in the welterweights.

Worapoj Petchkoom, Thailand’s 2004 Olympic silver medallist, won his bantamweight semifinal, and Angkam Chomphupoung won his middleweight bout to join light welterweight Manus on the Beijing-bound Thailand team.

The three Chinese boxers who progressed to their home Olympics were Hu Qing, who had a narrow points win in the lightweight division, Maimaitituersun Qiong, who forced a stoppage in his light welterweight bout, and light heavyweight Zhang Xiaoping.

Tajikistan was the only other nation to win multiple berths, with Kurbanov Djakhon earning a place in the light heavyweights and Yunusov Anvar in flyweight.

India’s 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar is Beijing bound after winning in the bantamweight division, while Kazakhstan had one winner as Birzhan Zhakypov took out his light flyweight bout.

Japan’s Satoshi Shimizu won through in the featherweights when 2003 World Champion Galib Jafarov of Kazakhstan was forced to retire in the third round due to injury.

The final Olympic spot to be decided in this tournament was to decided Sunday in the final of the heavyweight class, where Uzbekistan’s Jasur Matchanov — a bronze medallist at the 2005 World Championships — will take on reigning Asian Games champ Ali Mazaheri of Iran.

A total of 53 Asian boxers will compete in Beijing. There were 15 places awarded at last year’s amateur World Championships in Chicago, with the remainder allocated by the two regional qualifying tournaments.

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