Focus on headguards after Pakistan's Muhammad Waseem wins boxing medal
Referee had no option but to stop the fight with just 28 seconds gone, which saw Azat Usenaliev lose in a technical knockout
Critics of a controversial decision to dispense with headguards in amateur boxing were given more ammunition yesterday when Pakistan's Muhammad Waseem claimed an Asian Games medal just seconds into his quarter-final bout.
Flyweight Waseem and Azat Usenaliev accidentally clashed heads moments after the bell with the Krygyzstan boxer suffering a nasty gash above his eye.
Unable to continue, the referee had no option but to stop the fight with just 28 seconds gone and award Waseem a technical knockout win.
Arab nations don't win many medals in boxing, so I want to share my joy with the people in Jordan
Waseem advances to the semi-finals where he will face Uzbekistan's Shakhobidin Zoirov and is thus guaranteed at least a bronze medal.
The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) discarded headguards last year in a bid to align more closely with the professional game. Britain's former Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan has been critical of the new regulation saying fighters need protection.
"Headguards need to come back," Khan said at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month.
"Especially when you've got fighters who are fighting nearly five times a week."
