Manus, Somjit stay on course
Somjit Jongjohor, left, lands a punch on the right cheek of Kazakhstan’s Mirat Sarsembayev during the men’s flyweight quarter-final bout.
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[BOXING] Athens Olympic hero Manus Boonjumnong and reigning champ Somjit Jongjohor are assured of winning at least two bronze medals for Thailand after pulling off superb wins over their respective opponents in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games boxing competition at the Aspire Hall yesterday.
Manus, the reformed playboy of Thai boxing, took another step towards reviving his career when he won a tough quarter-final match against Iranian Morteza Sepahvandi. A household name back home, the 26-year light welterweight was forced to trade punches with the challenger after the score was 11-10 in the third round. The Thai star, however, came out in full strength in the fourth and final round, where he bagged three points to win the thriller 14-10 and a berth in the semi-finals, where he will go up against world champion Serik Sapiyev from Kazakhstan. "I have already beaten him [Sepahvandi] twice, but this time I had to spend more time dealing with him. He has improved his tactics. I think I'm still fit physically and I already proved that I am fresh enough to make it to the final," Manus, who finished fifth in Busan, said yesterday. "I have never met the Kazakh opponent. I saw him sparring in the gym and I think I can beat him," said Manus, who is already thinking of the final. "I think I might have to take on Dilshod Mahmudov of Uzbekistan," he said. Manus, who took a two-year break from boxing following his Athens triumph, said he had been training hard and was hungry for success. "I have been training really hard in Cuba for the past two months before coming to the Asian Games and I am in perfect condition." he said. "I can win the gold medal." Manus left the ring to enjoy his celebrity status and spent the hefty reward he received from Thai authorities after his Athens win. The Thai boxer rose to prominence after winning a bronze at the world championships in 2003 and then scoring a shock victory at the Olympics the following year. Meanwhile, former world flyweight champion Somjit Jongjoha outpointed Kazakhstan's Mirat Sarsembayev 20- 11 to book a semi-final berth in Doha. "Today, I was lucky. I have fought Sarsembayev before so I knew his style of fighting. He was aggressive and tried to rush things. But I calmed him down. He has speed and good footwork, but I gave him some hard punches," Somjit said. "Japan's [Susa] Katsuaki, I think, is weak. I'm pretty confident of reaching the final. Susa is a right-handed boxer and we have trained together and I think I can match him. My real threat will be South Korea's Lee Ok Sung, who is a world campion." The semi-finals are due to take place on Sunday. Preechachan Wiriyanupappong The Nation Doha
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