▲ South Korea's Jang Dong-hwan competes against Uzbekistan's Abdumalik Khalokov during the men's 60kg boxing final at the Nishio Gymnasium in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Oct. 2.
South Korean promising men's boxing prospect Jang Dong-hwan (Korea National Sport University) has claimed a valuable silver medal after showing great fighting spirit against the world's best in the Asian Games final.
Jang suffered a 5-0 (27-30, 27-30, 27-30, 28-29, 27-30) unanimous decision loss to Abdumalik Khalokov of Uzbekistan in the men's 60kg boxing final at the Nishio Gymnasium in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Oct. 2.
His opponent in the final, Khalokov, is the absolute powerhouse and world No. 1 in this weight class, having swept gold medals at the Asian Championships, World Championships, 2024 Paris Olympics, and 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Jang showed no intimidation from the first round, engaging in a fierce slugfest.
As Khalokov aggressively rushed in and slipped punches with quick weaving, Jang also charged in roughly to wage a close-range battle.
As a result, one of the five judges scored the first round 10-9 in favor of Jang, showing how evenly matched they were.
However, Khalokov's veteran savvy shone through in the second round.
Khalokov landed effective blows from a distance to steadily accumulate points, and whenever Jang moved in, he skillfully clinched just short of receiving a warning from the referee while throwing punches.
Struggling against his opponent's seasoned ring management, Jang dropped the second round across all judges' scorecards (9-10).
In the third round, with both fighters visibly fatigued and their footwork slowed, Khalokov resorted to time-wasting tactics to protect his lead.
Ultimately, all five judges scored the third round in favor of Khalokov (10-9), bringing the match to a close.
This marks the first time in 12 years that a South Korean male boxer has reached an Asian Games final, since Shin Jong-hun and Ham Sang-myung won simultaneous gold medals at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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