Road to Tokyo 2020 starts in Amman this week

AMMAN — Over 250 boxers from 38 nations have arrived in Amman for the second leg of the Boxing Road to Tokyo series – the Asian/Oceanian Qualifying Event – which will be held from March 3-11, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

The competition will be staged at the Prince Hamzeh Hall, where 174 men and 77 women boxers, including a number of Jordanian hopefuls, are expected to compete for 63 Tokyo 2020 places.

It’s not the first time that Asian and Oceanian boxers have met in an Olympic qualifier, and some of the best athletes in the world are aiming for an Olympic spot.

Asia is well known for being a boxing powerhouse with fighters from the continent claiming 13 medals at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, and 12 in Beijing four years later. Since women’s boxing events were added to the Olympic programme, Asian boxers have earned a total of 16 medals in London and 17 at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. 

Furthermore, Asian boxers finished atop of the list at all recent world-level competitions. Last year, at the World Men’s Elite Boxing Championships held in Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation, they pocketed 15 out of the 32 medals.

Asian women boxers’ results are in line with the trend too, as they obtained three gold, four silver and 10 bronze medals at the 2019 Women’s World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation, and eight out of 10 gold medals at the 2018 Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, India.

Nations to watch

Uzbekistan comes first in the list of “nations to watch” in Amman, as their team finished top of the medal standings both at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and at the 2019 World Men’s Elite Boxing Championships.

Kazakhstan is certainly their biggest challenger with their Central Asian rival claiming gold medals at all Olympic Games editions since their first participation in 1996. In Amman they will face strong contenders from China, the Philippines, Chinese Taipei and Mongolia.

India is also in the spotlight. Since the country won its first Olympic boxing medal back in 2008, the sport has been growing steadily, and their team is now considered one of the strongest in the world. IOC Boxing Taskforce Athlete Ambassador Mary Kom (51kg) will be the team’s biggest hope during this Asian/Oceanian Qualifying Event.

Oceania’s Australia and New Zealand are also among the nations to watch: 13 Australian athletes and nine New Zealand amateur boxers have set out on their biggest assignment of their boxing careers as they chase qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games. There are great expectations for David Nyika, the New Zealand amateur boxer, who won the men’s light heavyweight division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the men’s heavyweight division at the 2018 edition.