Australia has had its most successful Olympic boxing campaign since Rome 1960, with Charlie Parker and Caitlin Parker claiming bronze in the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
In front of a boisterous crowd under the roof on the famous Philippe-Chatrier court, Caitlin and Charlie gave it their all in their respective bouts but couldn’t do enough to see them progress to the gold medal bout.
Their losses mean both leave Paris with a bronze medal, Caitlin becoming the first Australian woman to win an Olympic boxing medal.
She fell to Li Qian of China in the women’s 75kg semi-final, taking the first round before losing in a unanimous 5-0 decision.
She said that she was proud of her performance, despite being disappointed at not getting an opportunity to fight for gold.
“I said I was going to go to war and I did,” she said. “I left everything out there and the game plan didn’t go as I wanted.
“But I’m proud of myself for having gotten where I’ve gotten, for making history for Australian boxing.
“I wanted that gold medal so badly. It’s been my screen saver on my phone for the past four years.
“I’ve worn nothing but gold. I literally haven’t worn silver or gray for the past two or three years because it’s too close to being silver and I always want gold.
“I really truly thought I could do it, but I didn’t. And you know what? I’m proud I did it for Australia.”
It was a fast start by the 28-year-old, who looked quick on her feet in her defence against the much taller Li.
Landing several quick punches on the counter, Caitlin was able to secure the favour of the judges with a with all five giving her a score of ten for the first round.
Li showed why she is the tournament’s number one boxer in the second, quickly establishing momentum with a series of hits throughout the round.
Caitlin fired away plenty in return, however her opponent was quick to the defense, locking Caitlin and the bout down on several occasions in the centre of the ring before the referee stepped in.
All five judges scored Li a ten in the second round, giving extra spice to the third.
In the end the tenacity and power of the Chinese competitor was too much for Caitlin, with a flurry of hits in the final round doing enough for Li to secure a unanimous 5-0 decision.
“I did think that I was getting the clearer shot and it kind of came to me as a little bit of a shock when they said it was even coming into the third,” Caitlin said. “I went into the third leaving
everything on the line.
“I just fell into her wrestling a bit too much and I knew that it was coming, but I just couldn’t get out of it as well as I wanted to.
“She’s such an amazing opponent and I have all the respect in the world for her.”
Earlier in the evening, Charlie faced the tough prospect of also facing his division’s number one ranked boxer, Abdumalik Khalokov of Uzbekistan.
The start of the 57kg semi-final was fast, furious and entertaining, with both Charlie and his opponent weaving around the ring in fast steps and even faster punches.
Charlie gave everything he could in attempting to land hits on the Uzbeki, but he was unable to break through his speed and quick defensive dodges.
After missing out on any tens in the first round from the judges, Charlie clawed one back in the second after landing several hits, meaning he had to go big and hard in the third and final round.
Charlie couldn’t land the killer blow, with the pair exchanging a knowing grin and smile at the end of the bout, before both sending the crowd into raptures with dual backflips after Khalokov was
declared the winner with a unanimous 5-0 decision.
Charlie said that he fought as hard as he could and was glad to go out entertaining the crowd.
“It was a tough fight to say the least,” he said. “I go out there expecting every fight to be a hard, gold medal fight, and he’s a world class opponent.
“I’ve fought him before and it’s always entertaining, so to be out there with the best and putting on a performance like that is amazing.
“Unfortunately the decision is not what I came for, but if I can entertain the crowd and put on a show and stand out as well, I’m happy to do so.”
Caitlin and Charlie’s bronze medals are the first time since the Rome Olympics in 1960 that Australia has won two Boxing medals at the same Olympics.
As team captain of Australia’s biggest ever Boxing team sent to an Olympic Games, Caitlin said she was extremely proud of their Paris performance and expects it to launch the sport into even bigger things in the future.
“I’m so proud of all my teammates,” she said. “We came in with such a great culture and we really upped the belief in each other all the way through.
“I know that next Olympics, we’re just going to come back strong and show how.
“Harry (Garside) started it last time. This time we come back with two medals. Next time, we’re going to come back with more and more.
“We’re going to be like the swimming. We’re going to be bringing those medals in.”
Ben Waterworth
