After a challenging three-round bout, Taiwan’s Chen Nien-chin (???) was crowned women’s 69kg welterweight gold medalist at the 2022 Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament in Phuket on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Hualien native secured her place in the final after outboxing Ariane Nicholson of New Zealand 5-0 in the semifinals.
On Saturday, Chen repeated the scoreline against Thai boxer Baison Manikon in the final at the Angsana Convention and Exhibition Space in Phuket.
However, the fight was more challenging than the semifinal, especially during the third round when Manikon engaged in multiple close quarter exchanges.
However, Chen remained composed and was able to counter her opponent’s attacks to take gold at the first international boxing exhibition of the year.
the two women first faced each other two years ago in the semifinals of the 2020 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament where Chen also beat Manikon 5-0.
Although Chen took second place in that qualifier, she was unexpectedly defeated in the first round at the Tokyo Olympics last year, the second time she represented Taiwan at the Olympic Games.
It was later revealed that she had undergone treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics.
In March, the boxer fully recovered and returned to high-intensity training, with her coach Ke Wen-ming (???) telling CNA that the 2022 Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament was an opportunity for Chen to re-familiarize herself with international fights after having been away for so long.
In addition to being the first woman to ever represent Taiwan at the Olympics in boxing, Chen also won bronze at the 2016 World Boxing Championships and a gold in the 2018 championship.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel