Alexandre Vinokourov wins gold at Olympics
30.07.2012
Central Asia had a slew of athletes in opening- and qualifying-round competitions July 28, Day One of the XXX Olympiad, though most were disappointed with early exits.
The day's Central Asian standout was Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan), who won gold in the men's cycling road race. Rigoberto Urбn (Colombia) and Alexander Kristoff (Norway) finished second and third, respectively, in the 250km event.
Rishod Sobirov gave Uzbekistan a strong start, advancing to the bronze medal match.
Sobirov took on Arsen Galstyan (Russia) in the semi-final, but lost on a judge’s decision, relegating him to the bronze medal match.
In the same weight class, Yerkebulan Kosayev (Kazakhstan) was eliminated after losing 1-0 to Hovhannes Davtyan (Armenia) in the second round.
In <48kg women’s judo, Aleksandr Podryadova (Kazakhstan) lost in the second round to Urantsetseg Munkhbat (Mongolia). Munkhbat received a point from a judge, while Podryadova scored no points and was penalised one point for non-combativity.
In <56kg men’s boxing, Orzubek Shayimov (Uzbekistan) lost 13-7 to Robenilson Vieira de Jesus (Brazil). Vieira de Jesus closed out the bout with a 4-2 third round. However, in the same weight class, Kanat Abutalipov (Kazakhstan) defeated Wessam Salamana (Syria) 15-7.
Central Asia’s shooters fared poorly in the men’s10m air pistol and women’s 10m air rifle competition. All four competitors –Sergey Babikov (Tajikistan), Sakina Mamedova (Uzbekistan), and Olga Dovgun and Vyacheslav Podlesnyy (both of Kazakhstan) – failed to survive the qualifying round.
In swimming, Anum Bandey (Pakistan) was eliminated in the qualifying heats of the women’s 400m individual medley, while Vladislav Polyakov (Kazakhstan) was eliminated in the men’s 100m breaststroke qualifiers.
Finally, in rowing, Kazakhstan’s Vladislav Yakovlev and Svetlana Germanovich were eliminated in the repechage stage of the men’s and women’s single sculls competition, respectively, according to Central Asia Online.
