Three Thai musketeers - Suban Pannon, Worapoj Petchkoom and Angkhan Chomphuphuang - sailed into the semi-finals of the Asian Games boxing competition yesterday, but only Worapoj, the Athens Olympic hero, came a cropper as he went down to Asian champion John Tipon in a hard-fought battle.

Worapoj, who took the silver in the Athens Games, took command initially to lead 4-2 in the first round, but lost his touch in the second and third rounds, where

he succumbed 1-3 and 3-4, respectively. Trailing by just one point, Worapoj unleashed powerful shots in the fourth round to bag five more points, while the Filipino's sturdy challenge also paid off, winning four.

At the final bell, both fighters were tied with 13 points. After collecting points from all five judges, Syrian referee Issa al-Nassar raised Tipon's arm as the winner, while Worapoj left the arena in despair.

"I missed some shots while attempting to gain more points and the Filipino just punched me back aggressively. His sharp jabs and body shots were precise and effective. I was quite confident of beating him but I failed," said Worapoj, a silver medallist at the Athens Games.

"As the scores were 13-13 at the final bell, I was confident that I would be the winner. It was a surprise that I lost the match. I want to apologise to my Thai fans and to the Southern people in particular that I let them down," he added.

Despite the loss, Worapoj will take home a bronze and Bt200,000, which is offered as an incentive by the National Sports Development Fund. Earlier, compatriot Suban packed too many guns for Godfrey Castro. He pummelled the Filipino with punches all over his face and body to take a commanding 40-20 lead in the third round. Pakistani referee Akram Khan stepped in to stop the one-sided contest.

"I'm 90 per cent confident of winning the gold medal. The Thai team and I will try our best to win a gold medal for Thai fans and bring it as a new year's present to them," said Suban, who claimed a bronze in the Busan Asian Games.

"In the first round, it was very hard to adapt to his fighting style," he said. "It took some time. I took advantage of his weak points and using my longer-reach punched hard at his face."

Chinese Zou Shiming, who thrashed Korean Hong Moo-won 17-9 in the other semis yesterday, said he is ready for Suban in the final tomorrow. "I have met him twice and the result is one win and one loss. He performed very well in the semi-finals," said Zou, a bronze medallist at the Athens Games and a world champion last year.

The welterweight 69kg semi-final clash between Angkhan Chomphuphuang, a former wushu gold medallist, who is chasing his dream of winning a medal in boxing, and Mohammad Sattarpour saw the Thai fighter overwhelm the Iranian challenger 36-18 in four gruelling rounds.

In tomorrow's final, Angkhan takes on Asian champion Bakhyt Sarsekbayev from Kazakhstan, who outpointed Chinese Hanati Silamu 37-30 in the other semis yesterday.

"I'm very pleased with my form. My chances in the final are 50-50. The Kazkakh fighter is very experienced. I will use my strength to ward off his challenge. I hope to win my second gold," Angkhan said.

Today, former world champion Somjit Jongjohor faces Filipino Violito Payla as he bids to retain his Busan Games title in the flyweight 51kg boxing event. Athens Olympics hero Manus Boonjumnong will be trying to add another gold to his growing collection when he takes on Korean Shim Myung Hoon in the light welterweight clash.

Preechachan     Wiriyanupappong

The Nation

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