DUSHANBE, April 9, 2012, Asia-Plus – Sobirjon Nazarov (-75kg) became the second Tajik boxer to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics after reaching the semi-finals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan on Sunday.

After beating Thai boxer Kirangkai Sukhum 16-11, Sobirjon reached the quarterfinals.  In the quarterfinal, Tajik boxer met with Yang Yu-Tin from Chinese Taipei.  Tajik boxer also won this fight 16-11 and in the semi-final, he will meet with Abbos Atoyev from Uzbekistan.

We will recall that the first Tajik boxer to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics is Anvar Yunusov (-56kg), who won bronze medal at the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.

There will be 10 men''s boxing weights at London 2012 and, for the first time, three women''s events will join them on the card.  The new women''s events are at flyweight (48-51kg), light-welterweight (57-60kg) and light-heavyweight (69-75kg).

The Olympic boxing competition allows each country to send up to 10 men and three women (one boxer per event) to the Games.  To take part, athletes must have been born between 1 January 1978 and 31 December 1995, making 16 the minimum age for competitors.