Dour display sends Amnat crashing out
www.bangkokpost.com writes that,
WANCHAI RUJAWONGSANTI
BEIJING : Light-flyweight Amnat Ruenroeng missed out on winning a medal when he was defeated 5-2 by Mongolia’s Serdamba Purevdorj in the quarter-finals last night.
The ex-convict failed to deliver in one of the most important bouts of his career and didn’t appear to try very hard for victory.
In one of the worst fights of the tournament, both sides fought cautiously and the referee had to tell them to box on several occasions.
In a lacklustre first round, Purevdorj took a 1-0 lead with probably the only punch of the round. The score remained the same after the second round.
The Mongolian built a 3-0 lead after three rounds. The fourth and final round was a bit more exciting but the Thai did not try to chase the opponent late in the round when he was losing. With s30 seconds to go, the referee again told them to fight.
”Never mind,” said Amnat who was still in a good mood after the defeat.
The 28-year-old star blamed the judges for his loss and claimed he had hit the target more than his opponent did.
”I was not nervous. It was useless to chase the opponent when you did not get points from good punches,” said the Chon Buri native.
He said he thought in the first round that there might have something wrong with the officiating as he felt he did better than the Mongolian, who was the 2007 Asian champion.
Amnat, a bronze medallist at the 2007 World Championships, said he would continue boxing.
Taweep Jantararoj, president of the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand (Abat), said Amnat fought his usual style and could not walk forward because his opponent could hit him with counter-punches.
”It was a pity that he lost because the fight was close,” he said.
Eight Thai boxers qualified for the Beijing Games but only two remain in the tournament _ defending light-welterweight champion Manus Boonjumnong and flyweight Somjit Jongjohor.
Manus is in the semi-finals, while Somjit will face Anvar Yunusov of Tajikistan in the quarter-finals today at 6pm Thai time.
The 33-year-old star has defeated the opponent twice at the 2006 Asian Games and the President Cup a few months ago and believes he can beat him again.
”He is a fighter and still fights the same style which is not so dangerous for me. But I will not take anything for granted and will fight on the outside to maximise my reach advantage,” he said.
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