LAHORE - Pakistan's silver medal hope in boxing event was shattered Thursday when top pugilist M Waseem was contended with a bronze medal after he was outclassed by Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan in the flyweight division bout final of 17th Asian Games Boxing Tournament.
Uzbek boxer stamped his authority by demonstrating far superior technique and punching power to outpoint Waseem 30-27 winning all three rounds on unanimous decision points of four panel judges.
Waseem, a Commonwealth Games silver medalist in Glasgow a few weeks ago, could have assured silver if he had made it to final, but Zoirov confirmed his silver by reaching the final with brilliant footwork and consistent scoring.
"I was hoping to reach the final but the Uzbek boxer put a better show and beat me on points. Not winning disappointment was there but I am happy that I won the bronze for the country," Waseem said.
IRAN THRASH PAKISTAN IN KABBADI SEMIS:
Pakistan ended with bronze medal in kabbadi event after going down fighting against Iran 25-14 in the semifinal at Songodo Gymnasium court. Pakistan players offered formidable Iranian team a great fight by playing a 9-9 draw in the first half. However, Iran team came very strongly in the second period to outclass Pakistan 16-5 to make it one-sided affair.
Like in the previous games, Nasir Ali led from the front with brilliant play as Pakistan gained 5-3 at the start of the match. However, Iran came from behind to draw level 9-all. Iran proved too good for Pakistan as they kept their opponents under pressure with smart performance in the second half.
"Our best player Waseem could not come up to our expectations which put the team under pressure,” captain Nasir said. "Our start was good. But due to Waseem's showing, we outplayed by Iran team,” he added. However, he said they were happy to retain bronze medal.
Six-time gold medal winner India, however, faced a stiff challenge from host South Korea before storming in the final with 36-25 victory in the other semifinal. Korean team battling hard lost the first half 12-14. But Indian team put up a far superior display to reach the final by winning the second session 22-13.
PAKISTAN FINISH 11TH IN RUGBY:
Pakistan won by 12-7 against Saudi Arabia in men's classification 11th-12th place at the 17th Asian Games rugby challenge held at the Namdong Asiad rugby field.
POOR PERFORMANCES IN TABLE TENNIS, KARATE, TAEKWONDO:
Raheela Kashif of Pakistan lost to Hyowon Suh of Korea by 4-0 at the Suwon Gymnasium - court 4 in the women's singles 1/32 elimination match 12 at the table tennis event.
Amkha Vongphachan of Laos defeated Baz Muhammad of Pakistan by 5-0 in men's kata 1/8 final match 2 in the karate tournament. Kulsoom of Pakistan lost to Bimala Tamang of Nepal 4-1 in women's kata quarterfinal match 2. Ghulam Abbas Saadi of Pakistan won against Yemen’s Saleh Ahmed Saleh Alradaei by 4-1 in men's -67kg 1/8 final but lost to Lat Long Pang from China in the quarter-final 5-1. In men's -75kg 1/8 final event match 1, Baz Muhammad lost to Hosam Momdouh Ahmed of Qatar by 2-4.
Arsalan Asad Khan from Pakistan was defeated by Yen Ming Chen of Chinese Taipei by 5-13 in men -63 kg round of 32 match 1 in the taekwondo challenge. Pakistan’s Asia Batool lost to Julyana Fuad Fawzi Al Sadeq from Jordan by 24-4 in women -67 kg round of 16 match 3.