Friday, August 22, 2008

Cuban and Mongolian boxers to contest final of bantamweight class

(BEIJING, August 22) -- The gold medal bout of the Olympic Boxing competition's bantamweight class will be between Yankiel Leon Alarcon of Cuba and Badar-Uugan Enkhbat of Mongolia after both boxers won their semifinal bouts.

Leon Alarcon defeated Bruno Julie of Mauritius 7-5. Despite the loss, Godavarisingh Rajcoomar, the President of the Mauritian Boxing Association, was happy about Julie winning a bronze medal.

"It's great because this is the first ever Olympic medal for Mauritius in any sport. We came here with just two boxers, and it's a great achievement for such a small country, like Mauritius, which is in the middle of the Indian Ocean," said Rajcooma.

In the other semifinal, Enkhbat became the second Mongolian boxer to enter a gold medal bout when he defeated Veaceslav Gojan of Moldova 15-2.

The first Mongolian boxer to enter a boxing final was Serdamba Purevdorj, who will compete in the final of the light-flyweight class against China's Zou Shiming.

After the bout, Enkhbat's coach Bandi Damdinjav warned that Leon Alarcon would be a tough opponent in the final.

"He (Enkhbat) will have a tough fight because the Cuban boxer is a very good attacker and a tough defender," said Damdinjav.

As a loser of a boxing semifinal, Gojan will also be awarded a bronze medal.