BEIJING, March 18: Third round of China International Boxing Open competition will be held in Pakistan next week. The second round is being held in Shanghai from Thursday.

Asian boxers will be slugging it in the second round of Olympic qualifiers as they continue their quest for a place at this summer's Athens Games. The China International Boxing Open, held in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, is one of three Olympic qualifying tournaments in Asia. The tournament will select 20 boxers to proceed to the Games.

The Chinese tournament follows the selection of 24 fighters at the 22nd Asian Boxing Championships in Manila in January.Another 18 boxers will be chosen in the third round of the competition in Pakistan next month.

Fighters are competing in 12 divisions, from the 51-kilogram (112-pound) light flyweight class, to the 91-kilogram (200-pound)-plus super heavy weight. Host China, which has never won an Olympic boxing medal, has already won two qualification places at this year's Olympics -light flyweight Zou Shiming and light heavyweight Lei Yuping.

Chinese head coach Li Qingsheng said China hoped to provide at least three fighters for Athens and was determined to take home amedal. "We're going to break the no-medal barrier," Li said in an interview.

Regional powerhouse Kazakhstan led the qualifiers in the first round in the Philippines, winning three gold medals and onesilver. South Korea and Uzbekistan each claimed two golds, two silvers and a bronze, while the Philippines scored two golds and one silver.

Syria and Pakistan won a gold each, and North Korea earned a bronze. Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam, each had one boxer reach the quarterfinals. Thailand, traditionally an Asian boxing power, struggled in the Philippines, winning just one bronze. -APP