Uzbekistan, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan and Philippines select boxers as flag bearers in the Olympic Parade of Nations

The Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games was held in Japan’s capital in a bubble system but the flag parade of the countries delighted the event. Among the Asian nations, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Philippines and Uzbekistan selected boxers as flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony in Tokyo.

India claimed two medals in the history of the boxing events of the Olympic Games but the sports’ popularity increased in the recent years. Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte is the most successful woman boxer of all-times, she claimed six titles in the history of the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and won the ASBC Asian Women’s Boxing Championships five-times. Following her bronze medal in London, the 38-year-old star is aiming for the country’s first ever boxing gold in Tokyo but firstly she had an important role in the Opening Ceremony.

A boxing power, Uzbekistan topped the medal standings in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games therefore boxing’s popularity is highest than ever in the Central Asian country. One of their flag bearers should have been a welterweight (69kg) star, 27-year-old Bobo-Usmon Baturov who claimed gold medals in the recent two editions of the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships and at the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games. Just before the start of the Opening Ceremony, he was replaced by their star boxer, AIBA World Champion and three-time ASBC Asian Champion Bakhodir Jalolov.

Boxing is a national sport also in Kazakhstan and the country is the only one which produced at least one Olympic gold medal in each of the editions in Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro between the 1996 and 2016 Games. Two-time AIBA World Boxing Championships silver medallist and ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships runner-up super heavyweight (+91kg) boxer, Kamshybek Kunkabayev was named as their flag bearer in the Opening Ceremony. 

Boxing is also a traditional sport in the Philippines and one of the most successful for the country in their all-times rankings. Philippines qualified four boxers to the Olympic Games and their best male boxer, 26-year-old Eumir Felix Marcial received the right to be the flag bearer during the ceremonies. Marcial won his first big title as a junior in 2011 and claimed silver at the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships. He bagged bronze medal at the Dubai 2021 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships which was his last appearance in the international events. Jordan’s Asian Games bronze medallist and Asian & Oceanian Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event winner Zeyad Eshaish was one of the flag bearers of their team in Tokyo. Jordan qualified record number of five boxers and their 22-year-old welterweight (69kg) hope has got excellent draw to get a medal in the Games.