09 May 2004	Sunday	18 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, May 8: Pakistan's Ahmad Ali Khan pulverised Tajikistan's Khaidov Akmal to storm into quarterfinals while his compatriot Faisal Kareem also won in the third Olympic qualifying boxing tournament on Saturday.

Light-welterweight Faisal was declared 20-10 winner against Turkmenistan's Sakatov Anna Sahat who left the boxing hall in anger and his officials disappointed after the decision at KPT Sports Complex.

Turkmenistan manager Burkazov and coach Siedov were reluctant to talk to the media and refrained from commenting on the decision while sitting by the side of their dejected boxer outside the hall.

"We don't want to say anything," a disappointed Turkmenistan coach said.

Sahat dominated right from the beginning and scored points in the first round while Faisal's repeatedly missed target in the first and second round.

It was in the third round that Faisal succeeded in scoring points against his taller opponent. But the Turkmen appeared to be on top in the fourth round.

Interestingly, according to the official break-up of points, both boxers were tied at 3-3 in the first round while Pakistani led 6-0 in the second round.

Faisal got nine points while Turkmen two in the third round. The home pugilist accumulated two points in the final round whereas his rival got five, according to the points break-up.

On the contrary, middleweight Ahmad showed his class when he prevailed over his Tajik opponent, taking full advantage of his better reach to finish the opening round by leading 6-0.

Akmal was no match against experienced Ahmad as Pakistani kept on scoring points throughout second round while Tajik found it difficult to cope with the pressure.

While far superior Ahmadhad his opponent on the ropes several times through solid punches and stinging jabs, Akmal even found difficult to save himself from the punishment.

To add miseries, Akmal received eight counts and lost precious points when he was warned for grabbing Ahmad in the third. The bout did not see the final round as Ahmad, the major Pakistan medal hope, emerged victor with RSC/OS verdict in the third round.

Jordan's lightweight Taraj Al Matboli was dissatisfied as he kneeled down in the ring in abject dejection soon after jury declared China's Chen Tongzhou 29-18 winner.

Following the defeat of Mohammad Ali Qamar on Friday, India were relieved when light-welterweight Vijender outpunched Japan's Yukio Fukaishi 24-8.

It was easy sailing for the Indian who slowly and gradually scored points throughout the fight, although he was cautious in the first round.

Both pugilists fought hard to break each other's guard in the second round but Fukaishi had no answer to Vijender's technique as the Indian easily won the bout.

Syria's lightweight Wahhbbe Abdullah advanced into last eight with a close 38-37 triumph after a close fight against Japan's Takashi Uchiyama.

Although Uchiyama had the better of the exchanges in the two rounds, a series of powerful blows from the Syrian in the third round earned him the points he was looking for.

The two boxers were almost even in the final round, but the Syrian eventually won the clash with just one point.

Abdulaev Jahangir of Kyrgyzstan notched up 38-34 win after yet another close bout against Mongolia's B. Bayan Munkh to reach light-welterweight quarterfinals.

Results (pre-quarterfinals):

Lightweight: U. Munkh Eldene (Mongolia) bt Titus Tibalimeten(Indonesia) RSC/CCL/II; Wahhbbe Abdullah (Syria) bt TakashiUchiyama (Japan) 38-37; Genebert Basadre (Philippines) btDipendra Maharjan (Nepal) 24-10; Adnan Yusoh (Malaysia) btDjuraev Khurshed (Tajikistan) 25-20; Piichai Sayota (Thailand) btSuvankulov Jahangir 22-18; Arashev Mardan (Turkmenistan) btWaleed (Kuwait) RSC/OS/I; Sheng Hao Liao (Chinese Taipei) bt MohdAbdul Rahman (Qatar) walkover; Chen Tongzhou (China) bt Taraj AlMatboli (Jordan) 29-18.

Light-welterweight: Vijender (India) bt Yukio Fukaishi (Japan)24-8; Alhadi Abdul Rahman ((Qatar) bt Qassim Mohd Al Barou (UAE)28-16; Abdulaev Jahangir (Kyrgyzstan) bt B. Bayan Munkh(Mongolia) 38-34; Morteza Sepahvandi (Iran) bt Sushil Ghimire(Nepal) RSC/OS/I; Bai Bingbing (China) bt C. Toar Jermia Sompo(Indonesia) 39-19; Faisal Kareem (Pakistan) bt Sakatov Anna Sahat(Turkmenistan) 20-10; Yang Hyun Tae (South Korea) bt SarsekbaevBahit (Tajikistan) walkover: Abdallah Hawawreh (Jordan) bt AliTalib (Iraq) 30-25.

Middleweight: Cho Deok Jin (South Korea) bt Kymbatbek Ryskulov (Kyrgyzstan) 26-15; Ahmad Ali Khan (Pakistan) bt Khaidov Akmal (Tajikistan)RSC/OS/III; Mehdi Ghorbani (Iran) bt Mashabipov Sbovkat(Turkmenistan) 27-14.

Light-heavyweight: Kurbancv SA (Turkmenistan) bt Myrsataev Ruslan (Kyrgyzstan) 30-12.