Malaysia's kings of the ring

20/06/1998

B. MURUGUTHEVAN again upset the formbook when he beat Somchai Nakbalee
from Thailand in the 60kg category while Adnan Jusuh handed Malaysia their
second gold in the King's Cup finals at the Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam
yesterday.
Malaysia never saw it so good in the King's Cup before.
At the end of the day, Benny Thomas and Beng Huat Cheng settled for
silver while Malaysia's bronze count stood at eight.
Commonwealth Games trainee Muru has been a relevation in the tournament,
showing Sea Games gold medallist Wilpare Jamhur of Indonesia the exit in
the semifinals.
Muru kept up the charge in the final against Somchai, beating the Thai
by one point in a close fight.
Muru fought intelligently in the fifth and final round, punching his way
to the top of the podium.
That Somchai is the Asian Cup and Jakarta Sea Games silver medallist
only made Muru's victory even sweeter.
"I feel good, this is one of my best fights so far and it has given me
the confidence to fight in the Commonwealth Games," said the Armed Forces
commando from the Sungai Udang camp in Malacca.
Muru, who won a bronze in Jakarta, started well in the first round and
kept his distance by pacing the ring which made Somchai lose his
concentration and caused him to throw wild punches.
In the second, Muru charged as the horn blew and pinned Somchai on the
ropes with a volley of six well-placed punches which saw the Thai stagger.
But Somchai recovered and pulled back to take an 11-8 lead going into
the third round.
Muru, having the advantage of a longer reach, kept his distance in the
third and fourth but Somchai found a break in the dying seconds of the
fourth when the Malaysian slipped as Somchai took a 17-16 lead.
In the fifth, Muru kept the Thai at bay with his longer reach and went
on to win 20-19.
Adnan won Malaysia's second gold when he beat Chung Hsien Tu of Taiwan
in the 54kg event. Adnan had the match in his hands as early as the second
but in the third he let his guard down as he was too eager to finish off
Chung.
In the fourth and fifth he kept his distance and threw intelligent
punches which propelled him to the top, bleeding nose and all.
Meanwhile on the organisational side of things, organising secretary
Kol. Yusof Said said a single ring will not be enough for the Commonwealth
Games.
"We have received entries from 260 boxers and since there are no
qualifying rounds in the Commonwealth Games, we will have to entertain
all," said Yusof.
"This is a mammoth task considering that boxing has only eight days on
the Games calendar. One ring will not be enough, we will need at least two
at the Maslawati Stadium."
RESULTS (all finals) 48kg: Somjit Jong Johar (Thai) bt Damianus Jordan
(Indon) 14-11; 51kg: Hermawan Ballo bt Utepon Utapon (Thai) 28-17; 54kg:
Adnan Jusuh (Mas) bt Chung Hsien Tu (Tai) 31-16; 57kg: Manus Boonjamnong
(Thai) bt Berny Thomas (Mas) 28-8; 60kg: B. Muruguthevan (Mas) bt Somchai
Nakbalee (Thai) 20-19; 63.5kg: Pongsak Hrianthuan Thong (Thai) bt Welem
Papilaya (Indon) 21-12; 67kg: Bora Gomes (Indon) bt Jakpong Suwunnalird
(Thai) 24-21; 75kg: Sayidkhan Kulamhamad (Thai) bt Beng Huat Cheng (Mas)
16-3; 81kg: Somsak Janthaporn (Thai) bt Shan Che Lo (Tai) 13-4.
Bronze medallists - 48kg: Mubin Latif (Mas) and Sapok Biki (Mas); 51kg:
Rakib Ahmad (Mas) and Eddie Suip (Mas); 54kg: Jaiwat Yamun (Mas) and
Jefridin Yatim (Mas); 57kg: Wu Hsin Ling (Tai) and Azani Azam (Mas); 60kg:
Ismail Ariffin (Mas) and Wilpare Jamhur (Thai).
(END)