1st Asian University Boxing Championship successfully concluded

DUSHANBE – on 7 May, the 1^st Asian University Boxing Championship ended in Dushanbe. 68 Boxers representing 9 countries (Afghanistan, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Thailand, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) in 10 categories for men and 3 categories for women, participated in the 5-day competition.

Exciting Finals

The finals started with women’s 51kg between Svetlana Veglina (TJK) and Raksat Chuthamat (THA). Chuthamat was the bronze medal winner of the 2015 Doha World Boxing Championship and the silver medal winner of the 2015 South East Asia Games. Needless to say, she was the super star in this category. Veglina was not a glass jaw as well, but she was less experienced and not as fast as her opponent. Finally, Chuthamat won and received the gold medal from AUSF Senior Vice-President Omar AL-HAI.

After 3 pairs of women boxers, the men’s competition began. In the 64kg category, Okishima Hikaru (JPN) and Ogonazarov Shorukh (TJK) were well-matched. Hikaru was quite active and used to straight punches. He moved quite frequently to try to get the point. His opponent Shorukh was also a very experienced boxer in Tajikistan, and he really wanted to win the match for his country. He was fast and skillful as well. Finally, the gold medal was presented to Hikaru. In the 81kg category, Akhmedov Ali (KAZ) was too strong for his opponent Jafoev Navruz (TJK) that he finished the match in round 2.

After all the bouts, the Tajikistan delegation won the team event, by winning 7 gold medals, 9 silver and 7 bronze medals, followed by Kazakhstan with 3 gold medals,1 silver and 2 bronze medals, and Kyrgyzstan with 1 gold medal, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal. AUSF President Mr. Xinsheng ZHANG presented the Golden Cup to the Head of Tajikistan team Mr. Shodi SAFAROV.

Grand Closing Ceremony

AUSF EC members and local authorities at the closing ceremony

At the Closing Ceremony Minister of Tajikistan Education and Science Mr. Nuriddin SAID thanked all the participants and praised the athletes. He also thanked AUSF for attributing this championship to Tajikistan. He said sport was the bridge to connect the world and he hoped that Tajikistan could host more international competitions in the future.

AUSF President Mr. Xinsheng ZHANG first extended his genuine gratitude to Tajikistan, especially for the dedication and commitment of the Tajikistan Ministry of Education and Science and the Tajikistan Committee of Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism and congratulated the Organizing Committee for such a wonderful event. It was the first international university championship in Tajikistan as well as the first boxing championship of AUSF. He highly praised that Tajikistan and central Asia was playing a more and more active role in AUSF and FISU events.

After the speech, Mr. Xinsheng ZHANG presented a gift to the Organizing Committee and for the celebration of 25^th Anniversary of Independence of Tajikistan. In return, the Organizing Committee also prepared a gift for every guest from AUSF. With the traditional music and dancing of Tajikistan, the 1^st Asian University Boxing Championship concluded successfully.

For more information visit www.ausf.org.

(Source: AUSF Secretariat)