Podium finished and medals are to be expected from the host nation at the upcoming AIBA Junior World Championships, which will start in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 22.
The Kazakh contingent did not win any gold medals at the last edition of the AIBA Junior World Championships in Yerevan and their best boxers will be looking step to the top of the podium before the home crowd. Asian Games champion Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan was a gold medalist at this event in 2006 his younger compatriots will be hoping to emulate him in Astana.
The first huge hope for Kazakhstan will be pinweight boxer Olzhas Kalaubek who became gold medalist at the Eurasian Junior Tournament in Kazan last year and secured the silver medal at the Ahmet Comert Tournament, at the Uman Liberation Cup and at the Heydar Aliyev Memorial Tournament.
Yerbolat Yermekov from Astana won the Kazakh Junior National Championships this year and secured a valuable silver medal at the Uman Liberation Cup in Ukraine, where he was defeated by top favourite Aliyar Noraliyev of Uzbekistan in the final.
Kayirgeldi Dauitbek achieved only a silver medal at the Kazakh National Championships but went on to win each of his bouts this year and took a gold medal at the Eurasian Junior Games in Kazan in 2010. Dauitbek is perhaps the best gold medal hope for Kazakhstan at the event.
Akylbek Adilgali from Mangystau also has a lot of international experience and took the gold medal at the Heydar Aliyev Junior Cup in Baku in the face of strong competition. Adilgali will be competing in the 66kg weight class in Astana.
Middleweight Daulet Baygabatov from Almaty became National Junior Champion in February and secured a silver medal at the Uman Liberation Cup in Ukraine where he lost to European Junior Championships silver medalist Oleksandr Khyznyak by a close 2:1.
The best Kazakh super heavyweight boxer among the juniors is National Champion 16-year-old Didar Tolegen who won the Heydar Aliyev Junior Cup in May. Tolegen's biggest rivals will be Uzbekistan's Oybek Sharipov and Russia's Khodzhiakbar Mamakov.
Surprisingly Zangar Temirkhan will be competing for Kazakhstan in the light flyweight class, Kazakh National Junior Championships bronze medalist Alibek Basala moved up into the flyweight, while 15-year-old newcomer Zatulla Rauan will be fighting at light bantamweight from July 23.
The Kazakh head coach also included National Championships bronze medalist Bekzhan Kibitkaliyev in the bantamweight division, strong National Champion Askar Duisaly at 75kg and finally Heydar Aliyev Junior Cup bronze medalist Tilek Kozbakov.
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