Fri, Nov 26 10 10:06 AM
S S Ramaswamy Guangzhou, Nov 26 (PTI) Indian pugilists'' fantastic Asian Games performance has caught the eye of International Boxing Association chief Ching Kuo-Wu, who feels they are as good as their counterparts from traditional powerhouses such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. "The standard of boxing in both men''s and women''s competitions is quite high. I am really glad to see boxers'' skills, especially China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and India, who have the strongest boxers at these Games," the AIBA President said. "I must say the standard of women''s boxing was not less than the men''s competition. Women''s boxing is more popular now than ever and some 120 AIBA affiliates are practicing it, which is quite encouraging," Wu said. India''s teen sensation and world youth champion Vikas Krishan upstaged China''s defending champion Qing Hu 5-4 last night at the Foshan Gymnasium to provide the country its first gold in 12 years after Dingko Singh at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games. The other medal winners for India going into the final day are Dinesh Kumar (81kg, silver), who lost to the 2006 Doha Games middleweight (75kg) champion Elshod Rasulov of Uzbekistan in last night''s final. The bronze medals have been won by 48kg women''s world champion M C Mary Kom in the 51kg weight category, Suranjoy Singh (men''s 52kg), Paramjeet Singh Samota (men''s +91kg) and Kavita Goyat (women''s 75kg). Wu said women''s boxing has a long way to go as there are cultural barriers for it to prosper in some countries. "AIBA has been encouraging its affiliated national federations to overcome such cultural barriers so that women''s boxing can become popular and its standard can also be raised," he commented. Wu says he foresees the boxers from Asia challenging Europe''s domination. "Asia is a big force in boxing at the international level but its standard is not like Europe. The only way for Asia to end European domination is to work hard," he said.
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