Matvey Korobov, twice world champion from Russia, claimed on Tuesday that his team is set to win five out of 11 boxing gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.
"For me, of course I want a gold medal. For my team, I think it will win five gold medals this time," the 2005 and 2007 world champ told Xinhua after training at Ditan Gynasium.
With three world champions, one Olympic champion, and several world championships silver and bronze medalists in the team, Korobov has the reason to be so confident, or over-confident.
"Now my physical and technical conditions are perfect, 100 percent normal, and today's training is good," he said.
Korobov regards the Cuban team "very strong", but with many new faces in the Cuban team, he believes Russia is a bit stronger than Cuba.
He also predicted the Chinese to cash in on home advantage to win one or two gold medals.
Athens Olympic champion Alexey Tishchenko said that every athlete wants gold medal, and he is no exception. He didn't fight well last year at the Chicago World Championships and only got a bronze.
"This time I feel better," he said. "I'm now physically more suitable than last year."
Tishchenko said his team's goal is three golds, two silvers, and one bronze, good enough to top the boxing medal tally.
As a perennial boxing power, Russia grabbed three golds and three silver in the Athens Olympics. In the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, the Russian seized three golds each. At the Beijing Olympics, the Russian team is the only one to have obtained all 11 qualifying berths.
(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)