Hasanboy Dusmatov wins flyweight gold, adding to Uzbekistan men's dominance at Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — Hasanboy Dusmatov held up two fingers and let out a triumphant scream after his hand was lifted in victory on Thursday evening in Olympic boxing.

The Uzbek fighter was an Olympic champion for the second time after winning a tough, back-and-forth gold-medal bout against Billal Bennama of France in the men’s flyweight division at the Paris Games.

It was a 5:0 unanimous decision at an electric Roland Garros for Dusmatov, the gold medalist in the light-flyweight division at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

“I want to thank everybody back home who has supported me," Dusmatov said. “After Rio, I took a little break in my Olympic career. But I wanted to get that second gold medal, which is why I came back. I’ve given everything to do this. All the hard work has paid off.”

His victory added to a successful Paris run for Uzbekistan, which has dominated the men's tournament. The country has a fighter in each of the four remaining gold-medal bouts at this year's Olympics.

Shortly after that fight, Chang Yuan of China overpowered Hatice Akbas of Turkey to clinch her first Olympic gold medal. Chang won the 54-kilogram bout 5:0.

Women's middleweight

Li Qian of China advanced to the gold-medal match in the women's 75-kilogram division after beating Caitlin Parker of Australia 5:0 in a tight semifinal bout. Li, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Games in 2021, bounced back Thursday after a dominant opening round from Parker to win the final two rounds.

“It was close going into the third round, but I was good in the final round and managed to keep my rhythm," said Li, who also took bronze in 2016. “But I know I will have to do better in the final.”

Parker, the first woman to reach two Olympics with the Australian team, still secured a bronze medal when she beat Khadija Mardi of Morocco 4:1 in the quarterfinals.

“I wanted that gold medal so badly. It has been my screensaver on my phone for the past four years," Parker said. “I’ve worn nothing but gold. I literally haven’t worn silver or gray for the past two to three years as it was too close to being silver. All my gray tracksuits and everything are in the back of the closet. I’ve truly thought I could do it, but I didn’t. But I’m proud."

Li will face Atheyna Bylon, who has already ensured that Panama would get its fourth-ever Olympic medal. Bylong beat Cindy Ngamba in their semifinal bout shortly after Li's victory. Ngamba, who is 25 and originally from Cameroon, made history on Sunday when she became the first athlete competing as a refugee to clinch an Olympic medal.

Olympic boxing does not stage bronze-medal bouts, so the losers of both semifinal fights receive bronze.

Men's featherweight semifinals

Abdumalik Khalokov of Uzbekistan gave his country yet another fighter in a gold-medal bout after a dominant 5:0 victory over Charlie Senior of Australia in the men's 57-kilogram semifinals.

“We train, sleep and box. That’s all. Nothing else,” Khalokov said of his country’s success at the Paris Games.

Khalokov, the reigning world champion and Asian Games gold medalist in the featherweight category, will face Munarbek Seiitbek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan, who took a 4:1 decision over Javier Ibanez Diaz of Bulgaria in their semifinal bout.

Senior, the reigning Pacific Games champion fighting in his first Olympics, had already secured a bronze medal when he beat Tokyo silver medalist Carlo Paalam in a tight 3:2 split decision in the quarterfinals. But Senior wanted more.

“I’m not happy with it," Senior said after the loss. “Coming here for bronze wasn’t the goal. Leaving with gold is what everyone dreams of. That’s the aim.”

Senior still celebrated, getting Khalokov to join him for a blackflip in the ring after the fight.

“I go out there to put on a show," Senior said. "People can knock me if they like. We did that after the world championships last year. After the bout finished we both mumbled to each other and thought ‘Why not?’ We finished off with a bang.”

___

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games