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08/20/2008 Archived Entry: "Irish Boxer Clinched First Medal In History, Facing China’s Zou Next"
Irish Boxer Clinched First Medal In History, Facing China’s Zou Next
By Zhenyu Li at ringside in Beijing, China
Paddy Barnes of Irish celebrates after beating Poland's Lukasz Maszczyk 11-5 in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympic Games at Beijing Workers' Gymnasium on Aug 19, 2008. (Photo/Zhenyu Li)
BEIJING, August 20, 2008 -- A new chapter in Irish boxing history was turned when Paddy Barnes decisively beat his Poland foe Lukasz Maszczyk 11-5 and became the first Olympic boxing medalist ever in Irish boxing history.
The two boxers launched a slow start, probing each other through the entire round that ended 2-2. But after a sluggish opening round, the Irish turned up the heat. He landed efficient punches from both hands in the second, taking two point lead to win the round 5-3. He continued his lead outclassing his opponent 2-0 in the third and 2-0 in the fourth.
After pulling clear in the remaining three rounds, Barnes earned the victory decisively 11-5.
Standing next before him is Shiming Zou, the two-time world champion and China's finest boxer who had swept the Irish warrior 22-8 last fall in the 2007 World Boxing Championships, although the eight points he scored against the Chinese boxing talent was the second highest total among all the other participants, as Zou battered his way through the tournament.
Shiming Zou of China, left, cut through his Kazakhstan opponent Birzhan Zhakypov tidily, wining the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympic Games 9-4 at Beijing Workers' Gymnasium on Aug 19, 2008. (Photo/Zhenyu Li)
Zou cut through his Kazakhstan opponent Birzhan Zhakypov tidily, wining 9-4 on the same night.
Even if Barnes fell in the hands of Zou, he had already been in the history book, as he is now the first and only boxer in Irish history to qualify for the semis in the Olympics.
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Zhenyu Li is a Beijing-based 2008 Olympic journalist. He can be reached at zhenyuli_cn@sina.com.
