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TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Arlen Lopez received his second Olympic title on Wednesday to place boxing powerhouse Cuba on prime of the medals desk within the sport, after beating Britain’s Ben Whittaker in an entertaining ultimate of the boys’s light-heavyweight contest.
Lopez, the middleweight champion within the Rio Olympics, saved his cool all through and placed on a skilful show of boxing, retaining the fast-punching and tenacious Whittaker at bay and making it two golds for Cuba.
Prime seeds Buse Naz Cakiroglu and Busenaz Surmeneli received their semi-final bouts to offer Turkey a shot at its first-ever ladies’s Olympic boxing gold.
The one gold-medal match of the day went to Lopez, with Whittaker battling exhausting all through. The Briton by no means gave up, with fast bursts of tempo, however he struggled to tilt the combat in his favour as Lopez’s expertise shone by means of.
The defeat was agonising for Whittaker, who initially declined to put on his silver medal however later agreed the proper man had received.
“I simply could not rejoice the silver at the moment and I do not suppose I can simply but,” he mentioned.
“Once I look again in just a few years it’s going to in all probability be a terrific achievement however I used to be simply so upset as a result of I wished that gold.”
Loren Berto Alfonso Dominguez of Azerbaijan and Russian Imam Khataev each received bronze medals as shedding semi-finalists.
Within the ladies’s flyweight, European champion Cakiroglu noticed off towering Taiwanese Huang Hsiao-wen with a high-tempo, tactical efficiency, ducking Huang’s lengthy jabs repeatedly earlier than transferring in swiftly on the counter.
Cakiroglu will meet 35-year-old Stoyka Zhelyazkova Krasteva of Bulgaria in Saturday’s gold-medal match.
The Bulgarian was all the time on prime within the second semi-final regardless of a spirited efficiency by Japan’s Tsukimi Namiki, which ended hopes of a second ladies’s boxing gold for the hosts.
“I’m so, so completely happy however I’m making an attempt to remain centered on the ultimate as we got here right here with one objective which was to win the gold medal,” Cakiroglu mentioned. “The mission will not be full but.”
Compatriot Surmeneli was lifted by a home-turf environment on the Kokugikan area in her welterweight semi-final, with a loud Turkish group contingent making its presence recognized, chanting and cheering her each transfer in her win over India’s Lovlina Borgohain.
Surmeneli will meet China’s Gu Hong within the welterweight ultimate after her win over American Oshae Jones in an entertaining semi-final.
Gu mentioned it was not her finest combat however getting by means of was all that mattered.
“It’s encouraging for me,” she mentioned. “In the present day’s efficiency is not so good as regular… I struggled very exhausting.”
Richard Torrez Jr of america and Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan went by means of to the ultimate of the boys’s heavyweight after semi-final bouts that had been each stopped by the referee because of accidents to Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev and Briton Frazer Clarke.
Reporting by Martin Petty; enhancing by Clare Fallon
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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