Uzbekistan’s star Jakhongir Zokirov eliminates his main rival at the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships

Many of the Asian National Federations worked hard to give chances to their youth boxers to compete in the international stage again including the big powers and several developing nations. Boxers who were born in 2002 and in 2003 are eligible to attend in the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in Kielce which is the first ever global event in Poland.

India’s defending ASBC Asian Youth Champion at the women’s flyweight (51kg) Naorem Babyrojisana Chanu opened her campaign in the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. The 18-year-old Indian is one of the gold medal contenders who had an outstanding performance in the first preliminary round against Estonia’s Diana Gorisnaja. Her Baltic opponent was brave but Chanu’s strength decided their contest, the referee confirmed the Indian RSC victory in the second round.

Mongolia’s Altanbek Khulan competed also at the Ulaanbaatar 2019 ASBC Asian Youth Boxing Championships as Chanu and she had enough experiences to start her contest well in Kielce. The Mongolian flyweight (51kg) talent looked quicker and stronger after the first exchanges than Ukraine’s Daria-Olha Hutarina and took the lead quickly. The Mongolian, who has got Kazakh origins, felt the fighting distance better and eliminated her Ukrainian opponent in Kielce.

India’s ASBC Asian Youth Boxing Championships silver medallist Ankit Narwal met with Uzbekistan’s newcomer Akhmadjon Akhmedov in the preliminary round of the light welterweight (64kg). The Indian boxer reduced the fighting distance successfully in the first round and surprised the taller Uzbek. Narwal is the most experienced Indian youth talent who could keep his performance in the same level until the end of the final gong. The Indian won the contest by unanimous decision and eliminated a dangerous Asian rival in Kielce.

Uzbekistan’s ASBC Asian Junior Champion Jakhongir Zokirov met with Kazakhstan’s ASBC Asian Youth Champion Amanat Sabyrgali in an early final at the super heavyweight (+91kg). The two boxers are the bests in the heaviest weight class in the world in the youth age group but they had to meet each other already in the last 16. Both boxers felt this is one of the most important for them to get gold medal in Kielce therefore their contest was a crucial one. Zokirov was slightly better in their exchanges and the Uzbek could beat his main rival winning the contest by split decision.

Kazakhstan’s Sabyrzhan Akkalykov had to wait for four years to be selected for a major international championship but he was patient and arrived to Kielce with strong motivations. The Kazakh boxer produced a tactical first round against Spain’s Fabio Mazzilli who competed well in the Danas Pozniakas Youth Tournament in Lithuania last month. The Kazakh boxer turned up the heat in the second and he dominated the middle period of their light welterweight (64kg) contest. Akkalykov’s longer hands controlled the final round and finished the battle with tough combinations in Kielce.

Kazakhstan’s Dias Molzhigitov reached strong international junior results in 2018 and he was named as gold medal contender before the start of the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. He met first with Moldova’s Sveatoslav Voschresenschi and quickly started the dominate their fight. The Kazakh middleweight (75kg) boxer knocked down his Moldovan opponent already in the first round but Voschresenschi had still enough fighting spirit to continue the unequal bout. Molzhigitov decided the contest in the second round with impressive combinations and delivered Kazakhstan’s next RSC triumph.

Uzbekistan’s Nurislom Ismoilov was not an easy task to fight out his place in the top national team at the middleweight (75kg) due he had to show better skills in the training camp than ASBC Asian Junior Champion Login Petrov. Ismoilov reached top results in Puerto Princesa and in Ulaanbaatar therefore he was the favourite in the first preliminary round against Kyrgyzstan’s Islombek Turgunov. The Uzbek was confident and his well-built strategy worked well in the contest, eliminated his neighbouring opponent with clear boxing.