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Zou Shiming of China poses at his match against Birzhan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan during the Men's Light Fly (48kg) Quarterfinal of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games boxing event in Beijing, China, Aug. 19, 2008. Zou Shiming won the bout. |
Chinese boxers including "Pirate" Zou Shiming have secured four medals at the Beijing Olympic Games as of Wednesday.
The Beijing Olympics are set to be a milestone for Chinese boxers, as previously the best result was a bronze won by Zou at the Athens Games.
Zou Shiming for light flyweight (48 kg), Hanati Silamu for welterweight (69 kg), Zhang Xiaoping for light heavyweight (81 kg) and Zhang Zhilei for super heavyweight (+91kg) have checked into the semifinals on Wednesday.
The two Zhangs were the first Chinese boxers to enter the heavy weight categories.
According to the rules, the third and fourth players in the semifinals will both get bronze medals.
A record 10 Chinese boxers qualified for 10 of all the 11 categories of boxing at the Beijing Olympic Games. Among the them, nine entered the last 16 and six checked into the quarterfinals.
"The achievements are gained by years of efforts. The coming bouts will be even harder for our boxers, and we will try to get a gold for the first time in history," said Chinese boxing head coach Zhang Chuanliang.
(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2008)