According to Boxing Asiad 19, 51kg male weight, boxer Nguyen Minh Cuong did not have to play the first match 1/16. He entered the round of 1/8 to encounter Zhang Jia Mao, the landlord. Zhang is 24 years old, 1 year younger than Minh Cuong, just won the bronze medal of Boxing Bulgaria to expand Strandja Memorial 2023.
Before the match against Minh Cuong, Zhang had an impressive victory when he surpassed Shafiev Mehron, Tajikistan boxer in the first half. Good performance continued to be shown by Chinese boxers in the match against the representative of Vietnam. In all 3 rounds, Zhang played over Nguyen Minh Cuong.
Entering the first half of the match, Zhang soon actively attacked and put Minh Cuong with straight and effective hooks. At the end of the first half, 4/5 assessment of the victory score in favor of Zhang. Inspection No. 4 Jakov Peterson (Estonia) is the only one who marks Minh Cuong Thang in the first half.
In the second half, Minh Cuong somewhat regained the game, but Zhang still proved a bit better. That is shown on the scoreboard. Inspection No. 2 Bachir Abbar (Moroccan) and No. 3 Anar Babanli (Azerbaijan) are the people who mark Minh Cuong to win points, while the remaining 3 people loses.
With the score of the assessments given after the first 2 rounds (2 draws, 3 losses), Minh Cuong still had the opportunity to continue if he won in the last half. However, this scenario did not happen. Zhang won the victory to overwhelm in the final half with a score of 10-9 given by all 5 inspections.
At the end of the match, Zhang won 5-0 against Nguyen Minh Cuong (30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27). This victory brought Chinese artists to the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Minh Cuong had to stop at the continental playground for the first time attending the Vietnamese team.
Nguyen Minh Cuong was born and raised in Quang Ngai, who was a member of the Military Boxing team. By the beginning of this year, he switched to competition for Ho Chi Minh City units and won the gold medal of Boxing teams nationwide. After the 32nd SEA Games, Minh Cuong was summoned to the national team to attend ASIAD 19.
According to the regulations of the European Organizing Committee, the fighters weighing from 46kg to 51kg will be able to attend the weight of 51kg male weight. However, in the process of preparing for ASIAD 19, boxer Nguyen Linh Phung, the 32kg SEA Games bronze medal 49kg male was eliminated. Instead, Nguyen Minh Cuong was chosen to play in this weight class.