Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan Set Up Blockbuster Finals as U19 Men’s Semi-Finals Conclude in Jakarta

The finalists were confirmed in the U19 men’s division on Monday evening as the Asian Boxing U19 & U23 Boxing Championships Jakarta 2026 continued with an action-packed semi-final session at the World Boxing Cup Hall.

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan emerged as the dominant forces of the evening, securing multiple places in the gold medal bouts following a series of commanding performances across the weight categories.

Kazakhstan booked seven finalists, highlighted by victories from Askanbai A in the 50kg division, Akzhurek Kalabay (65kg), Bibarys Ashirbay (70kg), Timur Taibekov (80kg), Ametov R (85kg), and Vladislav Samozhonov, who needed just 55 seconds to stop the Philippines’ Jake Radley Fitch in the super heavyweight contest. Nurkozha E also reached the final after defeating Uzbekistan’s Elyor Rustamov at 55kg.

Uzbekistan matched that momentum with eight finalists of its own. Nozkosimov Utkizbek edged Japan’s Kotaro Nishizaki in a closely contested 50kg bout before Muhammadrizo Ukimov (60kg), Suhrob Rakhmatullaev (75kg), Abrorbek Sharipov (80kg), Sardorbek Bakhromkhujaev (85kg), Asadbek Sultanboev (90kg), Islam Salikhov (+90kg), and Elyor Rustamov completed another outstanding day for the Central Asian nation.

India will also celebrate several finalists after Aditya advanced at 55kg following a second-round referee stoppage over Korea’s Hyeonmin Lee. Shubham Rajput secured a narrow split-decision victory over Kyrgyzstan’s Aitbek Berdimuratov to progress to the heavyweight final.

Elsewhere, Thailand’s Siwa Chainarong (60kg), Korea’s Daeho Kang (65kg), Japan’s Kunimitsu Honjo (70kg), and Korea’s Dongjin Kim (75kg) each earned their place in the championship bouts with composed semi-final victories.

Several contests ended inside the distance, with Aditya (India), Kunimitsu Honjo (Japan), Ametov R (Kazakhstan), Sardorbek Bakhromkhujaev (Uzbekistan), and Vladislav Samozhonov (Kazakhstan) producing impressive stoppage victories to underline the quality on display.

With the semi-finals now complete, the U19 men’s gold medal bouts are set, promising an exciting conclusion to the championships as Asia’s next generation of boxing talent competes for continental titles in Jakarta.