No match for strong Thais boxers in SEA Games
No match for strong Thais boxers in SEA Games
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AP): It took a Philippine soldier and a Jakarta policeman to stop the mighty Thai boxers at the Southeast Asian Games Saturday.
Otherwise the Thais dominated boxing as they have the rest of the games, winning eight golds in 11 bouts.
Indonesian light heavyweight Albert Papilaya was slower on his feet than Thai opponent Somsak Janthaporn, but the referee stopped the bout in the third round after Albert bloodied Somsak's eye.
Albert, a 32-year-old Jakarta policeman from Indonesia's Ambon island, turned somersaults and danced around the ring after his victory.
Filipino light welterweight Romeo Brin, a quarterfinalist in the 1996 Olympics, won the gold 14-0 with relentless, windmilling punches to Thai boxer Pongsak Hrianthuanthong's head.
"Brin always fights like that. He has a great heart," said Arsenio Lacson, an administrative officer from the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines.
Brin, a 26-year-old army corporal from the Philippines' remote Palawan island, received a standing ovation from the crowd after one of his great fights.
His compatriot Juanito Magliquian took the pinweight gold with a 9-2 victory over Indonesia's Muhammad Rusli.
But the Thais won in all the other weight classes they fought in, helping their nation take an unbeatable lead in the games' overall gold medal count.
Thai fans with painted faces packed the stadium, waving flags, stamping their feet, blowing horns and belting out their national anthem after every victory.
Thailand's Somjit Jongjohor knocked down and beat Malaysia's Sapok Biki, the Commonwealth Games champion, 9-2 in light flyweight.
Flyweight Worapoj Petchkoom beat the Philippines' Arlan Lerio 7-2, and fellow Thai Wijan Ponlit beat Indonesia's Antonius Joni 7-2 in the bantamweight division.
The referee stopped the featherweight final when the Philippines' Elmer Pamisa staggered to the canvas from a hard blow to the head in the fourth round, giving the gold to Thai Sutthisak Samaksaman.
Thailand's Somchai Nakbalee beat Malaysian Muruguthevan Balakrishnan 10-0 in the lightweight bout.
In the most emotional fight of the day, Thailand's Dechapon Suwannalird took the welterweight gold in a 6-5 victory over Tun Tun of Myanmar.
Fans from the two neighbor countries, whose history includes border disputes and ancient rivalries, banged gongs and chanted patriotic slogans in a deafening din before, during and after the fight.
In the light middleweight division, Thailand's Komgrit Nanakon won the gold after his blow to Indonesian Joko Suryon's head prompted the referee to stop the bout in round 4.
Thai middleweight Pornchai Thongburan won the gold over the Philippines' Mario Tizon 5-1.