TEARS FOR TOKYO AS TOP SEEDS BOOK OLYMPIC TICKETS
Mar 08, 2020
World silver medallist and the Middleweight 75kg top seed, Eumir Marcial, broke down in tears after securing his passage to this summer’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Asian/Oceanian qualifying event in Amman.
The world No. 6 was one of three top seeds to secure their places after winning quarter-final bouts in an entertaining evening session at the Prince Hamzeh Hall in Al Hussein Youth City.
Marcial stopped Byamba Otgonbaater, of Mongolia, in the third round of a bruising contest and will now meet Kumar Ashish, of India, in Tuesday’s semi-final.
“I have dedicated four years of my life to this, and I have made it,” said a tearful Marcial. “I know my father would have been watching this back in the Philippines so I dedicate this achievement to him and all of my family who have supported me so much. I now have four months to prepare for trying to win gold.”
There was a huge upset at the other end of the Middleweight 75kg draw with China’s Tanglatihan Tuoheta beating the second seed, Seyedshahin Mousavi, of Iran, to book his Olympic ticket, and a semi-final clash with Kazakhstan’s Abilkan Amankul.
Another tournament top seed, Bakhodir Jalolov, claimed his Olympic ticket after cruising past Bahrain’s Russian-born Danis Latypov to book a semi-final bout in the Super Heavyweight +91kg division with fourth seed Kumar Satish, who beat Otgonbayer Daivii, of Mongolia.
World No. 7 Justis Huni, of Australia, the tournament third seed, beat New Zealand’s Leuila Mau’u to secure his Tokyo 2020 spot alongside second seed Kamshybek Kunkabayev, who he will meet next in Tuesday’s semi-final after the Kazakh beat China’s Maimaiti Aihemaiti.
Earlier in the evening, World Champion and world No. 2, Nien-Chin Chen, of Chinese Taipei, was in emphatic form as she booked her Tokyo 2020 passage with a women’s Welterweight 69kg quarter-final win over Mongolia’s Shinetsetseg Uranbileg. She will next fight Thai teenager, Baison Manikon, who stunned fourth seed Kaye Scott, of Australia.
The other semi-final sees the weight’s second and third seeds clash, with world bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain, of India, facing China’s Hong Gu.
The semi-final line-up in the women’s Middleweight 75kg division is complete, and it was 19-year-old Kazakh fighter Nadezhda Ryabets who produced one of the shocks of the day in beating world bronze medallist, Thi Nguyen, of Vietnam, the tournament third seed. Her last four contest will be against Australian second seed, Caitlin Parker, on Monday evening after she beat Korea’s Suyeon Seong.
