The 26th edition of ASBC's Men's Elite Championships started with its first session close to the capital city of South Korea, in Incheon on August 5. Ten preliminary bouts were held on the first session where places in the Top 16 and Top 8 were up for the grabs.
On the opening contest of the first competition day Tajikistan's World Combat Games silver medalist 19-year-old Safoviddin Yusufi started well in the first round and led by 7:4 after three minutes against Indonesia's top flyweight boxer Julio Bria. The Southeast Asian boxer tried to turn the fight and after his huge punches the French referee stopped the contest and Bria advanced to the next preliminary round.
Another flyweight contest were held in the second bout of the session and as expected Jordan's Arabic Games and Zlatko Hrbic Tournament winner 26-year-old Mohammad Al-Wadi eliminated Sri Lankan National Champion Tharindu Rathnayake Dhakshilath from the Slimline BC by large margin of points 21:9.
South Korea's Athens Olympian veteran Hong Moo Won is back on track and won his opening contest in Incheon against Chinese Taipei's Asian Games quarter-finalist 18-year-old Lin Yu Che due his great final round at the flyweight class and will be fighting against China's Asian Games silver medalist Chang Yong in the next round.
World Combat Games bronze medalist lightweight boxer Liu Qiang of China also made a successful debut in Incheon where the Liaoning-based star triumphed over Iraq's Arabic Champion veteran Suraka Mahdi Al-Waaly who was member of the AIBA Road to Milan training program in 2009.
In another lightweight contest India's Jai Bhagwan Singh who was silver medalist at the last edition of the Asian Championships in Zhuhai had two close rounds against Mongolia's former Asian Games silver medalist Enkhzorig Zorigtbaatar but the Mongolian boxer was disqualified in the last round after his series of fouls.
Tajikistan's Governor Cup winner 27-year-old Madadi Nagzibekov who has been training in St. Petersbourg, Russia won all of the three rounds against Chinese Taipei's Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Tournament bronze medalist Su Chin Fa and advanced to the quarter-final at the lightweight class.
China's former Asian Games winner Hu Qing moved up into the light welterweight class this year and in his debut in the new category he won over Sri Lanka's Military World Championships bronze medalist Sisira Ruwangala Kumarasinghe by 19:5 and will be fighting against Uzbekistan's great expectation 19-year-old Kobiljon Bobodjanov for the medal.
Reigning Asian Champion 25-year-old Serdar Hudayberdiyev of Turkmenistan also moved up a weight division after his great victory and showed his excellent technique in Incheon. In his first preliminary bout he led by 7:1 against Iran's newcomer Amin Bakhshizadeh and finally won their light welterweight contest by 16:7.
Another defending Asian Champion China's 26-year-old Zhang Jianting also fought in the first day against Japan's President's Cup winner strong Ryota Murata. Their bout in the middleweight was the best of the opening day and after the first equal 5:5 round the Japanese boxer knocked down the Chinese star whose ringside abandoned the contest at the beginning of the second round.
On the last bout of the opening day the first local boxer was eliminated in the Asian Championships before the home crowd. Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament silver medalist Yang Yu Ting of Chinese Taipei was too strong for South Korea's newcomer Woo Sung Jae at the middleweight class.
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