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Asian Games Preview: China

September 19th, 2014 / All

China boasts excellent women’s boxers, and their male athletes are also being tipped to win medals in the upcoming Incheon 2014 Asian Games.

Despite the medal expectations, there are only two athletes in the team in Chang Yong (52 kg) and Zhang Jiawei (56 kg) who have previous experience from the last edition of the Asian Games, as they both won silver medals in Guangzhou.

The Tension and the Drama
China’s two-time Olympic Champion and three-time AIBA World Champion Zou Shiming finished his active career after the London 2012 Olympics, but a new Chinese Light Flyweight class (49 kg) boxer has now emerged, and AIBA Youth World Champion Lu Bin will hope to be able to continue Zou’s excellent results in the upcoming event.

Ones to watch in the event
China’s new Lightweight class (60 kg) boxer Yin Junhua defeated Tajikistan’s London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Mavzuna Choriyeva in a hectic battle at the China Open Tournament in Guiyang, and expectations are high for her in Incheon.

Sportaccord World Combat Games silver medallist Li Qian is one of the tallest boxer in the women’s Middleweight class (75 kg), and she defeated one of her main rivals, London 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallist Marina Volnova of Kazakhstan in the Feliks Stamm Memorial Tournament in Warsaw in April.

Lu Bin claimed a gold medal at the 2012 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in Yerevan, Armenia and joined the elite level last year.

He is now experienced at the top level, and following his bronze at the 2013 ASBC Asian Continental Championships he is among the medal contenders in Incheon.

Chang Yong was a gold medallist at the 2011 ASBC Asian Continental Championships in Incheon, Korea, and now he returns to the place of his career highlight.

The Flyweight class (52 kg) boxer achieved a silver medal at the last edition of the Asian Games in Guangzhou, and this time his target is to get the top of the podium.

Zhang Jiawei has been China’s Bantamweight class (56 kg) national team member since 2010, and also secured silver in the last edition of the Asian Games in Guangzhou.

China’s Heavyweight class (91 kg) number one Wang Xuanxuan was a bronze medallist at the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, and will be hoping to return to that level of form in this tournament.

China’s team in the event
Women’s 51 kg: Si Haijuan
Women’s 60 kg: Yin Junhua
Women’s 75 kg: Li Qian
Men’s 49 kg: Lu Bin
Men’s 52 kg: Chang Yong
Men’s 56 kg: Zhang Jiawei
Men’s 60 kg: Wang Lei
Men’s 64 kg: Li Quanlong
Men’s 69 kg: Liu Wei
Men’s 75 kg: Zhou Di
Men’s 81 kg: Zhang Aolin
Men’s 91 kg: Wang Xuanxuan
Men’s +91 kg: Gu Guangming

China’s facts of the event
The Chinese coaches are building up a new squad ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic era, and therefore eleven new faces are in their team which will be competing in the Asian Games.

Their current team is a youthful one in comparison to their line-ups in previous years, but they are hopeful of securing medals in Incheon.

China’s history in the event
The first Chinese medal in the history of the Asian Games was acquired by Henry Wong in 1954 when he claimed silver in Manila.

China’s Lo Po Chang was their first gold medallist in the third edition of the Asian Games in Tokyo in 1958 when he won the Middleweight class (75 kg).

The second Chinese gold medal in boxing had to wait until the 1990 edition when Bai Chongguang won in Beijing.

China’s boxing life began a new era in 2001 when the first major competitions for women’s athletes were scheduled, and the International Olympic Committee decided to give the opportunity for Beijing to host the Olympic Games in 2008.

Stars Zou Shiming and Hu Qing took two gold medals for China in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar while five of their athletes won their weight classes in the last edition of the event in Guangzhou.