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On a day of mixed fortunes for the UAE at the 19th Asian Games, cyclist Ahmed Al Mansouri won a bronze medal as boxer Sultan Al Nuaimi’s dream run came to an end when he was beaten in the pre-quarterfinals of the men’s 51kg category.
A youth cyclist from Al Ahli Club, Al Mansouri finished third in the omnium’s 25km points race which was won by Japan’s Kazushige Kuboki.
Earlier this year Al Mansouri ended Yousif Mirza;s 12-year monopoly when he won the UAE Cycling Championship’s 80km road race in Kalba.
Al Mansouri’s bronze on Thursday was the UAE’s sixth medal at the Games in Hangzhou, China.
Earlier, judoka Omar Magomedomarov won the country’s first gold medal at the Games on Tuesday.
The UAE’s other medal winners are judokas Zafer Kosovo (bronze in the under-100 kg category), Gregory Aram (bronze in the under-90 kg category), Bishrelt Khorloodoi (silver medal in the women’s 52kg category) and Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (bronze medal in the men’s 66kg event).
Meanwhile, Al Nuaimi, who made history as the first Emirati boxer to win a fight at the Asian Games, was outpointed by Zohaib Rasheed of Pakistan in a well-contested three-round bout.
A history-making medallist at the 2022 ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships and 2022, the 23-year-old Rashed used his superior reach to keep Al Nuaimi at bay for most of the contest.
A tall fighter for the super flyweight weight class Rashid called upon all his experience to impress the first ringside judges and win by unanimous decision.
“I gave it my best shot but it wasn’t good enough to have my hand raised at the end of the fight,” Al Nuaimi said. “I’m gaining in experience and I believe it will only make me a better fighter.
“Rasheed is a difficult opponent. There were moments when I thought I could make things happen but I guess he was always ahead on the scoresheets and that was something that I could not control,” added the fighter from Ajman, who is unbeaten in 10 career pro fights.
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