Chang Yuan becomes China's first woman Olympic champion in boxing

PARIS - China's boxer Chang Yuan secured the women's 54kg gold at the Paris Olympic Games here on Thursday night in a clear unanimous decision against Turkey's Hatice Akbas.

Chang's gold represents China's first-ever Olympic women's boxing title.

In a tentative opening round, Chang, perhaps wary of her opponent's longer reach, lacked a little of the volume that she had shown in her previous bouts. However, Chang used her double jab to open up, and Akbas began to pay dividends for her powerful left.

Chang began to throw more punches in bunches in the second round to secure consecutive rounds. Once again, Chang expertly used her jab to slice through Akbas's defense for her sharp inside boxing. The Turk struggled to cope with the pressure, resorting to clinches to try and halt Chang's momentum.

In the third bout, it was more of the same, as Chang began to increase her volume and expose the gulf in class between the two. After her name was called as the winner, Chang was hoisted into the air by her coach as the Chinese contingent in the crowd celebrated with her.

After falling in the quarterfinals in Tokyo, Chang had to change her mindset to achieve gold.

"After the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, my mindset changed significantly. I became less impatient and restless. Recently, while preparing for Paris, I've managed to control my mindset and emotions well. This competition might help me gain a deeper understanding of myself. There are probably still many areas where I need to make changes," Chang admitted.

"I'm very excited. From the regret of the Tokyo Olympics to winning China's first gold in women's boxing today, it's a huge moment for me. At Roland Garros, tennis players have seen the national flag rise, and this time, it rose because of me. I feel very proud and honored."

In a women's 75kg semifinal, China's Li Qian came from a round down against Australia's Caitlin Parker to win by unanimous decision. The Chinese started slow and allowed Parker to get inside her range and score big in the first round. However, Li came back with a vengeance in the second round as she started to land from the outside and used her footwork and head movement to avoid the Australian's counterpunches. Li continued her momentum through the third round and maintained her superior accuracy to book her place in the gold medal bout.

"In the second and third rounds, I was more proactive. The first round was pretty even, but I was behind 5-0. So, I focused on being more aggressive, increasing my attacks, and putting more pressure on my opponent," Li reflected on the first round.

Li will face Panama's Atheyna Bylon in the final, after she defeated Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba of the Olympic Refugee team in a split decision 4-1.

In the men's 51kg final, Hasanboy Dusmatov won Uzbekistan's second boxing gold, beating France's Billal Bennama by unanimous decision. Backed by an ear drum-bursting rendition of La Marseillaise, the height difference between the two fighters was apparent, with the French No 1 seed towering over his Uzbek foe.

Yet, it was Dusmatov who came out on top marginally on three of the judges' scorecards. In the second bout, the French fighter struggled to catch Dusmatov on entry as the Uzbek's superior head movement started to produce gaps in Bennama's defense. With the momentum firmly with Dusmatov at the start of the final bout, the Uzbek continued to exploit the body of Bennama to leave openings upstairs for slick hooks.

At the start of the night in the men's 57kg semifinals, Abdumalik Khalokov thoroughly outclassed Australia's Charlie Senior in a unanimous decision. The Uzbek fighter effectively won every single bout on nearly every scorecard. Khalokov will face Kyrgyzstan's Munarbek Seiitbek Uulu, who defeated Bulgaria's Javier Ibanez Diaz in a scrappy bout via split decision 4-1.