Oleksandr Khyzhniak was just a minute away from winning an Olympic gold medal three years ago when a surprising punch knocked him down. The fight was stopped, and despite being one of the top boxers in Tokyo, Khyzhniak had to settle for silver.
Determined to make it right, Khyzhniak waited three years for his chance to redeem himself. On Wednesday night at the Paris Games, he finally achieved his goal by winning gold, but it came after enduring significant effort, time, and pain.
Khyzhniak defeated Nurbek Oralbay of Kazakhstan 3-2 in a thrilling final at Roland Garros.
The match was intense, with both fighters exchanging powerful punches for three rounds. Khyzhniak secured the victory with a strong final round filled with impressive uppercuts and powerful combinations.
When his hand was raised in victory, the 29-year-old Khyzhniak fell to his knees in relief. Even though he is a highly skilled professional, he had put other aspects of his life on hold to achieve what he couldn’t in Tokyo.
Khyzhniak spent the past three years reflecting on his loss to Hebert Sousa of Brazil. Despite being ahead on all scorecards after two rounds in that match, he was knocked down and the fight was stopped, costing him the gold medal.
Khyzhniak’s relentless fighting style, where he throws as many punches as possible, led to his defeat in Tokyo. He continued to press forward despite his disadvantage, and the skilled Sousa took advantage of this to knock him down, resulting in the fight being stopped by the referee.
After his loss, Khyzhniak focused on making a comeback to the Olympics, winning every amateur fight he entered since Tokyo. When the Olympics removed the 75-kilogram weight class he had competed in, he moved up to 80 kilograms, now known as middleweight.
Even though Khyzhniak was one of the most exciting fighters in his second Olympics, he didn’t easily win all his matches in Paris. He faced tough competition early on before reaching the semifinals against Arlen López, a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba.
In their semifinal match, both fighters delivered an impressive performance, but Khyzhniak secured his win with a strong third round. He kept attacking López, who eventually ran out of ways to defend against the relentless Ukrainian.
In the final, Khyzhniak fought against the skilled 24-year-old Oralbay, who had a twin brother also competing in Paris. Oralbay had the ability and power to challenge Khyzhniak, and the scorecards were nearly even heading into the final round.
The final round was intense. Oralbay had a cut near his right eye early on, and both fighters exchanged powerful punches for three minutes. All five judges scored the round in favor of Khyzhniak, who landed several precise uppercuts that repeatedly snapped Oralbay’s head back.
Khyzhniak’s gold medal win was the second of the day at Roland Garros, following Erislandy Álvarez of Cuba, who won a close lightweight bout against Sofiane Oumiha of France. However, Khyzhniak’s fight was noted for its high emotion and intensity.
Earlier, Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan advanced to the women’s featherweight gold medal match with her third straight win, amid scrutiny about her gender. Tokyo gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan won decisively against Nelvie Tiafack of Germany and will compete for his second super-heavyweight gold medal against Ayoub Ghadfa of Spain.
