Satjaporn Jamreonsan was the first Thai to step into the ring in his flyweight bout against Hwang Chol-nam and grabbed the first victory for the Thai team, defeating his North Korean opponent 28-19 in a hard-fought thriller.

The win guarantees at least a bronze medal for Satjaporn. The Thai next faces Arun Singh of India in today's semi-finals.

Somjit, who is also a flyweight, seemed to have a tougher task in his quarter-final bout against Gao Linzhi. However, Somjit's experience was too much for his Chinese challenger, sending him packing 15-9.

Somjit will next take on South Korean Kim Dae-sung - who yesterday overwhelmed Masri Mohamed of Syria 41-23 - in today's semi-finals.

Light welterweight Anuwat Samorkhong added a third win for Thailand, defeating Luo Qiang of China 24-23 in a very close match. The victory means he will face Shin Myung-chon of South Korea.

In the welterweight division, Angkhan Chomphuphuang convincingly beat Tsai Yao-chun of Taiwan 30-11, but his team-mate Samas Payuha crashed out following a stunning 23-24 loss at the hands of South Korean Kim Jung-joo in another close bout.

Middleweight Thanasit Sitthichen also failed to progress after being stopped by Boliguzov Pavel of Russia in the second round.

In another middleweight bout, Athens Olympic bronze medallist Suriya Prasathinphimai ended a good day for Thailand with an impressive 35-16 win over Abdurahmonov Shoizod of Uzbekistan. Suriya will next face Cho Deok-jin of South Korea in today's semi-finals.

Montreechai Lumyongsatian

The Nation

Nonthaburi