Amman, Jordan, March 8, 2020: Brothers Hussein and Zeyad Ishaish along with Odai Al Hindawi brought joy to hosts Jordan as they booked their Tokyo Olympic berths at the Asia-Oceania boxing qualifiers in Amman on Sunday.
There were remarkable scenes at the Prince Hamzah Hall as the three Jordanian boxers, cheered on by HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, President of the Jordan Olympic Committee, and other members of the Royal family, won their quarterfinal bouts to book their spots at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
After watching his brother and Al Hindawi qualify earlier in the morning session, Hussein, 25, produced a boxing masterclass to stop Samoa’s Ato Faoagali in the second round of their heavyweight 91kg fight to secure his second Olympic appearance following Rio four years ago.
“After watching Zeyad and Odai, I wanted to qualify in style, so was delighted to stop him,” Hussein said. “I am proud of my brother as well, and I promise this summer you will see headlines of the Ishaish brothers doing something special in Tokyo.”
Hussein will next fight Olympic silver medallist and top seed Vassily Levit of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals. The Kazakh, who also booked an Olympic ticket, defeated Davlat Boltayev of Tajikistan in his quarterfinal bout.
Earlier, Zeyad maintained a relentless pace on the front foot throughout his welterweight 69kg fight with Samoa’s Marion Ah Tong, and forced two standing counts on his way to a unanimous verdict from the judges.
“Thank God I was able to win a tough fight,” Zeyad said. “I did it for my family and all of Jordan. My dream was to always fight at an Olympics and it has come true. I want to go on and win this Championships and then plan for Tokyo.”
Al Hindawi appeared to be in the form of his life as he booked a light heavyweight 81kg semi-final spot and Tokyo berth with a stunning defeat of Thailand’s Jakkapong Yomkhot.
“This is the first step,” said Hindawai who won a unanimous verdict. “The Olympics was a dream but not anymore. I am very excited and believe I can go on and win a medal in Tokyo.
Jordan has two more boxers hopeful of booking an Olympic berth, Obada Al Kesbeh and Mohammad Al Wadi, who fight on Monday.
Source: Jordan Olympic Committee
