Uzbekistan score two upset gold medals on final day

Gaibnazarov, Zoirov the heroes

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 22, (AFP): Fazliddin Gaibnazarov stunned skilful Cuban-born opponent Lorenzo Sotomayor as Uzbekistan scored two upset gold medals on the final day of Olympic boxing here Sunday.

The unfancied Gaibnazarov shrugged off significant height and reach disadvantages to defeat Sotomayor by split decision at the RioCentro Arena in Rio.

Sotomayor, who moved to Azerbaijan in 2013 to further his international career, had been the favourite to land a gold.

But the gangly 31-year-old never managed to get to grips with his awkward, shorter opponent who burrowed in relentlessly and wobbled Sotomayor with the punch of the fight in the second round.

Sotomayor, a relative of Cuba’s 1992 Olympic high jump champion Javier, was inconsolable after the decision, led away from the ring in shock as a member of his entourage remonstrated angrily with the scorers table.

It was the second upset involving an Uzbeki fighter of the afternoon.

In the first bout of the day, Shakhobidin Zoirov shocked two-time Russian world champion Misha Aloian to win the flyweight gold.

Zoirov, 23, fought in flurries to frustrate his skilful opponent and win by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring it 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in his favour.

The Uzbek fighter celebrated deliriously after the decision, hoisted onto the shoulders of one of his cornermen who then carried the fighter around the stadium, milking the applause.

“I had a dream, to win the Olympics. That was my goal and I was doing everything to reach that goal,” Zoirov said.

The win completed a 13-year-old ring odyssey for Zoirov, who began fighting at the age of 10.

“I come from a middle class family, hard working people and I was also working very hard,” he said.

“There were many fights that I lost early in my career and I was very disappointed by this and I cried a lot.

Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov (left), fights Russia’s Misha Aloian during a men’s flyweight 52-kg final boxing match at

the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug 21. (AP)