2008 Olympic Games page

Ukraine's Vasyl Lomachenko gained revenge for his defeat in the AIBA World Championships Chicago 2007 57kg final by claiming a stunning 14:7 preliminary win over world champion Albert Selimov (RUS) in the star bout of the third day of the Olympic boxing competition in the Worker's Indoor Gymnasium in Beijing, China.

After losing 16:11 last year, Lomachenko seemed a new man, outwitting Selimov with superior hand and foot speed and an incredible ability to avoid a punch.

"I don't know (how I did it)," Lomachenko said. "I just made it. I lost a few points at the start but then I changed my position."

Selimov started well opening a 2:0 lead after the first round before Lomachenko charged back to claim the second round 7:3 for an overall lead of 7:5. A 6:0 win in the third round effectively tied up the bout for Lomachenko before he eventually cruised to victory in the fourth.

Pic: Lomachenko ducks under a jab from Selimov

"He (Selimov) was not in good shape," Dmytro Sosnovskyi, Selimov's coach, said. "He is strong but Lomachenko is also strong. The world champion title put pressure on him and made him nervous."

In other key results, the 2004 Athens Olympics bronze medallist in the 54kg class Bahodirjon Sultonov (UZB) claimed an opening victory in the 57kg preliminaries with a 9-5 win over Anthresh Lalit Lakra (IND) while the 57kg Athens gold medallist Alexey Tishchenko (RUS) beat Saifeddine Nejmaoui (TUN) 10:2 in his opening bout in the 60kg class.

Earlier in the day, the AIBA President Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu made a personal visit with his wife to Samoan boxer Farani Tavui at the Chinese-Japanese Friendship hospital. Dr. Wu checked on the well-being of the 22-year-old who was knocked out in his 81kg bout on the opening day of competition.

"Mr. Tavui was in great spirits and very eager to get back into the ring," Dr. Wu said. "But I told him to rest as much as possible and I am happy to say that he is well on the way to a speedy recovery."

"We are very grateful for the visit by the AIBA President," Samoa Chef de Mission Seb Kohlhase said. "This means a lot both to Farani and to Samoa. It is never pleasant when something like this happens but Dr. Wu's visit illustrates just how much he cares about boxing and the people who participate in the sport."

Mr. Tavui is expected out of hospital on Tuesday.

Pic: Farani Tavui with Dr. Wu (right) and the Samoa Chef de Mission Seb Kohlhase (left)