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08/25/2008 Archived Entry: "Zou Becomes China's First Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist"
Zou Becomes China's First Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist!
By Zhenyu Li at ringside in Beijing, China
Zou Shiming of China won the light flyweight 48 kilogram Olympic boxing gold medal by defeating Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Bronze medalists are Yampier Hernandez G of Cuba and Paddy Barnes of Ireland. (Photo/Zhenyu Li)
BEIJING, August 24, 2008 -- Zou made it. Much easier than expected.
Shiming Zou, China's biggest hopeful for its first Olympic boxing gold medal, easily won the gold medal after Mongolia's Serdamba Purevdorj couldn't keep fighting early in the second round because of a shoulder injury here on Sunday.
Zou took a 1-0 lead following a tune-up first round. The Mongolian got off to a good start, but the his coach surprisingly threw in the towel just 19 seconds into the second. The final was over. Zou became China's first-ever Olympic boxing gold medalist after one punch and 139 seconds.
The fight was stopped due to an injury to Purevdorj's shoulder when his right arm was hanging limply at his side with 101 seconds remaining in the second.
According to the Mongolian Olympic runner-up, his shoulder hasn't been right since an Olympic qualifying tournament in Kazakhstan. He hurt it again in his semifinal victory over Cuba's Yampier Hernandez, and he was unable to raise it after exchanging sharp punches with Zou early in the second.
"On the surface, it looked like I won the gold medal with no sweat, but there was much work and preparation that went into this," Zou said after the final. "It's regrettable that I couldn't be more entertaining to my fans in the gold medal bout."
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Zhenyu Li is a Beijing-based 2008 Olympic journalist. He can be reached at zhenyuli_cn@sina.com.
