Taiwanese boxer Chen Nien-chin, a bronze medalist at last year’s Paris Olympics, on Thursday claimed gold in the women’s 65kg division at the World Boxing Cup in India.
Chen defeated reigning champion Dione Burman of the UK (who competed in the 66kg division last year) by a score of 4-1 at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida, earning Taiwan’s first and only gold at World Boxing’s year-ending event.
“I think the key to winning was the team’s great atmosphere, that we shared the dream of winning gold and that we trusted each other,” Chen told the Central News Agency after the gold medal bout.
Photo: CNA
Only boxers with sufficient ranking points could compete in the World Boxing Cup finals and there were four qualifiers in Chen’s weight class.
In the gold medal bout, Chen fought aggressively despite her height disadvantage, while her English opponent relied largely on ineffective counterpunches.
Chen had a 20-18 lead on the scorecards of four of the five judges (and was tied on the other scorecard) heading into the final round, meaning Burman needed a dominant finish to have a chance to win.
Although she came out as the aggressor in round three, Burman failed to land many effective punches, with the two fighters clinching several times, and Chen maintained her edge for gold.
Reflecting on her journey to gold, Chen said she prepared extensively every day, including reviewing videos of Burman’s previous bouts.
She gave special thanks to a scouting team at National Tsing Hua University for its support, which she said “helped me fully grasp my opponents’ strategies.”
Chen’s gold came after Paris Games bronze medalist Wu Shih-yi and Guo Yi-xuan earlier the same day both lost in the finals of the women’s 57kg and 51kg divisions respectively.
All three were coached by Ko Wen-ming, who described the results as “not satisfying, but acceptable.”
“The two silver medals were a bit of a shame — they did have a chance to win,” he said.
The World Boxing Cup Finals in India was the second edition of the tournament held by the nascent organization. It concluded on Thursday after five days featuring more than 80 bouts in 20 men’s and women’s weight classes.
India topped the medal table with nine golds. Uzbekistan finished second with four.
Taiwan, which also had a bronze medal from Huang Hsiao-wen, came after the UK to rank fourth in the medal count among 18 nations.
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