BOXING DAY 7 REVIEW: ANOTHER RUSSIAN CHAMPION CRASHES OUT
Beijing 2008
2008-08-16 00:07:31
China
(BEIJING, August 15) — For the most part, all the medal favorites
advanced to the next level as expected, with the notable exception
of bantamweight champion Sergey Vodopyanov, who lost to India’s
Akhil Kumar.
Bantamweight (54kg)
The bout between Russia’s Vodopyanov and Kumar turned out to be the
biggest surprise of the day. The score was tied 9-9 at the end of the
bout, but the judges ruled that the Indian had landed the most punches.
The 27-year-old Indian was trailing behind for most of the bout, but
from the third round, the Indian began to demonstrate his determination
and aggression, winning the last two rounds 3-2 and 2-1.
Vodopyanov burst into tears when the match referee raised Kumar’s
hand. After shocking the world champion, Kumar, the Indian medal hope
is only one fight away from an Olympic medal.
"No silver or bronze, but I will be fighting for the gold. It will
be my luck if I get a bronze or silver. But I will be fighting only
for the gold. I have been quite boastful, which I should not because
anything could happen. If you can win against a world champion, you
can also lose to a rookie. But my target is nothing but the gold,"
said a confident Kumar.
In his next match, Kumar will fight Veaceslav Gojan of Moldova,
who defeated China’s Gu Yu 13-6 in his last bout.
Mongolia’s Badar-Uugan Enkhbat posted an easy 9-2 win over Ireland’s
John Joseph Nevin, who eliminated Algeria’s Abdelhalim. Nevin is
usually recognized for his defensive skills, but he couldn’t evade
Enkhbat’s punches.
Thailand’s Worapo Petchkoom, the silver medalist at Athens 2004, easily
moved ahead with a 12-1 victory over Italy’s Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello.
Featherweight (57kg)
Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko defeated the reigning world and European
champion, Russia’s Albert Selimov in the first round. He demonstrated
again that he is a strong medal contender by smashing Uzbekistan’s
Bahodirjon Sultonov 13-1 in his second bout.
Cuba’s Idel Torriente, the Pan American Champion, edged out Mongolia’s
Enkhzorig Zorigtbaatar, the reigning Asian champion 10-9.
Lightweight (60kg)
Medal favorite in this weight class, Alexey Tishchenko of
Russia, secured a comfortable 11-3 win over Australia’s Anthony
Little. Tishchenko crushed Tunisia’s Saifeddine Nejmaoui 10-2 in his
first bout.
Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas destroyed a supposedly tough opponent, Italy’s
Domenico Valentino, with a 10-2 victory.
France’s Daouda Sow shocked Kim Song-guk of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea in his first bout, winning 13-3. Sow won his second
bout against Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza Gonzalez 13-9.
The other medal favorites in this weight class also advanced to
the quarterfinals as expected. Armenia’s Hrachik Javakhyan crushed
Nigeria’s Rasheed Olawale Lawal 13-0 and Colombia’s Darleys Perez
beat Kyrgyzstan’s Asylbek Talasbaev 15-4.