Somluck - some fight - some gold at Games
Somluck - some fight - some gold at Games
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai Olympic champion Somluck Kamsing gave a royal performance as he became undisputed king of Asian boxing here Friday.
Somluck, watched by Thai crown prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, defeated Uzbekistan's Tulkunbav Turgunov 8-3 in the 57-kilogram final to complete a golden night for the host with its fifth gold medal of the Asian Games boxing competition.
Earlier, 51-kg fighter Pramuansak Phosuwan won Thailand's fourth gold medal with a victory over Hermensen Ballo, avenging his loss to the Indonesian at last year's SEA Games.
The flamboyant Somluck, cheered on by his fans in the 8,000- odd crowd, ensured that Thailand made it five wins out of five finals to keep the title he won four years ago in Hiroshima.
The Thais won three finals on Thursday.
Before their bouts, both Somluck and Pramuansak had an audience with the crown prince. They met again later to be presented with their gold medals.
The two Thais were clearly inspired by their royal meeting and the deafening roars from the Thai fans in the packed arena.
Somluck, displaying the kind of arrogance his fans adore, said he never doubted victory would be his.
"I said before the tournament that the gold medal here would be a foregone conclusion for me," said Somluck, bothered by a ankle since the start of the tournament. "I'm the world's best boxer in the 57 kilogram division.
"My next goal is to win another gold at the Sydney Olympics."
Pramuansak said the Thai fans and the presence of the crown prince helped him to the gold.
"I lost to Ballo at the SEA Games but in front of my own fans, I knew I could win," said Pramuansak, who lay prostrate before a picture of Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej after his triumph. "They helped me a lot."
Former Soviet republics Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan finished the competition with three gold medals each with the Uzbeks losing four of the seven finals they contested.
The Thai boxers' five gold medals helped boost Thailand's overall tally to 20.
Mahamatkodir Abdullaev opened the last day of competition with gold for Uzbekistan in the 63.5 kilogram event.
The world number one stood rock solid and efficient against the rangy Indonesian Wellem Papilaya for an impressive 17-2 points decision.
Uzbekistan earned its second medal of the night and third of the competition when Sergey Mihaylov dethroned Hiroshima Asian Games champion Lee Seung-bae of South Korea in the 81kg division.
Mihaylov, ranked eighth in the world, was superior in height, reach and punching power. Although he was hit five times by the battling Korean, Mihaylov registered nine hits to take the gold.
Mihaylov, the Olympic bronze medalist, now has his eye on the gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Kazakhstan's Yermakhan Ibraimov relegated another Korean to the silver medal in winning the 71kg event.
Yermakhan wasted little energy in scoring a 9-2 win over Im Jung-bin in the final.
Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov gave the Kazakhs their third gold of the competition when he stopped Iran's Mohammadreza Samadi in the third round of the super-heavyweight final.