Knockouts and close battles in the first day at the Asian Games

The first competition day at the Asian Games was impressive, 21 boxers celebrated their preliminary successes in Hangzhou, China today.

A record number of 238 boxers from 38 countries are participating in the boxing event of the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Among them 34 boxers, including 20 females will earn their Olympic quotas for Paris 2024.

The preliminary stage contains high number of world-class contests, some of the stars were already eliminated in the first day of boxing and they will have the chance to qualify for Paris only in the next year’s World Olympic Qualifiers.

Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong is Women’s World Championships silver medallist but she had a very tight defeat to China’s Asian Games winner Chang Yuan at the bantamweight (54kg).

Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam won the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships twice but she suffered a loss to India’s two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen at the light flyweight (50kg) due to her knee injury.

DPR Korea did not compete in the recent four years in the international competitions but the country returned in this Asian Games with excellent opener. Their former Women’s World Champion Pang Chol Mi and Choe Chol Man both won their contests against South Korean and Japanese opponents.

Japan’s Rinka Kinoshita, the ASBC Asian Elite Champion, switched to the women’s bantamweight (54kg) in the recent months but she had a comfortable win against Nepal’s veteran Minu Gurung.

Uzbekistan’s Nigina Uktamova is only 20 but she shined against Philippines’ Tokyo Olympian Irish Magno at the women’s bantamweight (54kg). The youngest Uzbek in the team, the Youth World Champion 19-year-old Turabek Khabibullayev dominated his first challenge against Nepal’s Deepak Shrestha.

Philippines’ Mark Ashley Fajardo, an 18-year-old newcomer, and Kyrgyzstan’s National Champion Askat Kultayev both opened their campaigns with classic knockouts in this Asian Games.