Nuraydin gives hosts a reason to cheer with pre-quarters spot

Qatar’s Hakan Murst Nuraydin (left) in action against Dzemal Bosnjak of Montenegro in the 81kg light heavy bout at the AIBA World Boxing Championships at Ali bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena in Doha yesterday. Picture at right, Qatar Olympic Committee president HESheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani (left), Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Sabah (centre) and AIBA president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu attended the World Championships on day two. PICTURES: Mamdouh

By Satya Rath/Doha

Hakan Murst Nuraydin started his boxing career rather late. The 34-year-old Qatari boxer, with Turkish origins, used to punch on-and-off more as a recreation than anything else, till he joined the armed forces in the early 2000s. Soon, what he practiced as a leisure pursuit became part of his occupation.
He competed in the 2005 AIBA World Championships in China but could not go beyond the second round. A year later, Nuraydin represented his adopted country at the Military World Championships in Germany and went on to win the bronze. Mixing his boxing career with his life as a soldier, while also battling with niggles and injuries that took a toll on his progress, he kept trudging along. In between some indifferent results, he won the gold in last year’s Doha International Tournament.
And yesterday, on the second day of preliminary rounds at the World Championships, the Qatari boxer cornered all the cheers and accolades from the small but noisy local crowd when he outpunched his more fancied opponent, Dzemal Bosnjak of Montenegro, by a unanimous 3-0 verdict in their 81kg light heavy bout to sail into the pre-quarters.
But it was a heart-breaking evening for the other two Qatari boxers in fray, and for the local fans who had come in large numbers to cheer for them, in the later session of the day. While Abdullatef Sadiq lost to Venezuelan Luis Cabrera by a unanimous 3-0 decision in the 60kg light bout, Hzam Nabah had few answers to the blinding punches of his stronger Argentinian opponent Alberto Palmetta.
Sadiq, the reigning lightweight GCC champion, was distraught after exiting the competition. “I am so happy to be fighting here in Doha in front of my family and friends, and it’s been such a huge experience for me. I want to thank the Qatar Boxing Federation for making my dream come true. In the end it wasn’t to be this time around, and I can’t deny that it’s really hard to take,” he said.
Earlier, Day 2 action began in the right earnest, with two knockouts spicing up the opening session. Moroccan power puncher Mohammed Arjaoui floored his Venezuelan opponent Edgar Mata Munoz in their super heavyweight bout, and the referee had no choice but to award the 28 year-old gold medal hope a win by technical knockout.
It was the second knockout of the day in a big-hitting session, following Egypt’s Walid Said Mohamed’s despatching of Filipino welterweight Eumir Marcial.
Yoel Finol, a 19-year-old flyweight from Venezuela, was too good with his strong combination punching to end the hopes of Turkmenistan number one Zarip Jumayev. “I thank God for winning my opening bout in Doha. I felt great through the whole bout and I tried to keep my opponent under pressure… but I know this is only the first step,” an elated Finol, who fights in the WSB pro series, said.
Another intense bout saw Italian legend Domenico Valentino, who has claimed five medals in the last five editions of the AIBA Worlds including the gold in 2009, end the challenge of highly rated Enrico La Cruz from the Netherlands, considered one of the most promising Europeans in the lightweight class.
There was a shock defeat for Georgia’s Otar Eranosyan, an EUBC European Confederation Boxing Championships silver medallist, who looked completely out-of-sorts against Ukrainian wildcard Tymur Beliak.
It was a memorable day for Syria, with their only boxer in fray, Alaa Ghoussoun, making the pre-quarters at the expense of Erkin Adylbek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan. Ghoussoun faces Kazakhstan’s Adilbek Niyazymbetov, a London Olympics silver medallist, next.
“Being the only Syrian in these championships, this was a real accomplishment for me and my country. Sport has the power to unify countries and people, and I want to thank the Qatari people for giving me such a warm welcome. I next face a very difficult opponent who’s defeated me twice in previous competitions, it’s going to be hard to get through, but I’m in good shape and will not give up,” he said.
It was a forgettable day, however, for India as their only boxer in action yesterday, Madan Lal in the 52kg Fly Weight, went down tamely to his Italian opponent Vincenzo Picardi to bow out of the championships.
The 23-year-old, considered among the better boxers from the current Indian lot, was competing in his second Worlds, but he was up against a wily 32-year-old entering his fifth world championships. Lal’s punches flew thick and fast, while the Italian played the waiting game to perfection. As the Indian youngster tired, Picardi, a bronze medalist at the 2007 Worlds and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and coming to Doha fresh from his silver medal finish at the Baku European Games earlier this year, came into his own with a wave of punches. The 3-0 verdict was unanimous.