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08/25/2008 Archived Entry: "The Dark Horse Xiaoping Zhang Bagged The Second Boxing Gold For China"
The Dark Horse Xiaoping Zhang Bagged The Second Boxing Gold For China
By Zhenyu Li at ringside in Beijing, China
Zhang Xiaoping of China, centre, celebrates after defeating Kenny Egan of Ireland in the men's light heavyweight 81 final boxing match at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Bronze medalists are Tony Jeffries of Britain and Yerkebulan Shynaliyev of Kazakhstan seen at the right. (Photo/Zhenyu Li)
BEIJING, August 24, 2008 -- About two hours after China's light flyweight hopeful Shiming Zou made history in becoming the nation's first Olympic boxing gold medalist, the dark horse light heavyweight Xiaoping Zhang beat the odds to bag the second boxing gold medal for China, outpointing Ireland's Kenny Egan 11-7.
Zhang upset two medal favorites on his way to the title bout, beating Russia's Artur Beterbiev, the silver medalist of the 2007 World Championships, 8-2 in the second round and his old nemesis Yerkebulan Shynaliyev of Kazakhstan, who kicked him out of the last eight in the 2007 World Championships, 4-4 in the semifinal.
In the final, the Chinese light heavyweight took an early lead and held it through the entire bout against Egan, who repeatedly struggled to land scoring punches despite an active attack.
"I performed on a high level both physically and psychologically during the tournament," Zhang said jubilantly after claiming the gold. "Before the Games, my goal rested simply on winning a medal. I didn't expect to reap a gold."
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Zhenyu Li is a Beijing-based 2008 Olympic journalist. He can be reached at zhenyuli_cn@sina.com.
