Hasanboy Dusmatov Returned to the Olympic Summit Eight
Hasanboy Dusmatov won his second Olympic boxing gold on August 8, 2024, defeating France’s Billal Bennama in the men’s 51kg final. All five judges favored the Uzbek boxer at Roland-Garros, adding Paris gold to his Rio 2016 championship.
A difficult quarterfinal interrupted unanimous wins
Dusmatov opened his tournament with a unanimous decision over Puerto Rico’s Juanma López de Jesús. His quarterfinal against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov proved much closer, ending in a 3–2 split decision.
He then defeated Cape Verde’s David de Pina unanimously in the semifinal. Bennama reached the other side of the bracket after victories over Roscoe Hill, Alejandro Claro and Yunior Alcántara Reyes.
Speed and movement won the final
Bennama had the support of the home crowd, but Dusmatov combined fast punches with effective movement to control the championship contest. The unanimous 5–0 result left the French boxer with silver.
The Olympic Council of Asia described a performance that also earned appreciation from the spectators despite the defeat of the host nation’s finalist. De Pina and Alcántara received the division’s bronze medals.
Gold in two Olympic weight categories
Dusmatov’s first Olympic championship came at 49kg in Rio. Eight years later, the revised Olympic program placed his Paris campaign in the 51kg flyweight division.
He had also won the Asian Games title at 51kg in Hangzhou before Paris. After securing another Olympic gold, he said he intended to take a break before deciding his next step, closing the tournament with a second championship on his record.
Sources
- Olympic Council of Asia: final performance, Rio gold and Asian Games title
- Olympedia: flyweight draw, quarterfinal and semifinal results
- French Olympic team: official Paris bout decisions
- NBC Olympics: flyweight medalists
