Olympic medalists crash out of world boxing championships

Athens Olympic silver medalist Husanov Sherzod of Uzbekistan was upset by Georgia's Juania 28-18 in the first round of the men's 69kg category at the World Boxing Championships on Sunday in Mianyang, Sichuan Province.

Turkey's Bulent Uldsoy surprised Azerbaijan's Khairov Ruslan, who won the bronze medal of the category in Athens last year, with a 18-14 bout.

Olympic champion Artayev Bakhtiyar of Kazakhstan survived the competition on the opening day of the worlds with a 33-11 victory over Seancarlos Prada of Venezula in the same category.

Four out of five Chinese boxers prevailed in Sunday's bouts. Yang Bo lost to Juan Carlos Payano of the Dominica Republic 36-22 in the 51kg category but Li Yang (57kg), Hu Qing (60kg), Chen Tongzhou (64kg) and Qi Jing (75kg) all prevailed.

The eight-day world boxing championships is held in China for the first time, drawing up to 400 boxers from 79 countries and regions.

Source: Xinhua