Japan’s Sewon Okazawa won an Asian Games gold medal for the first time in 29 years in boxing due to a walkover win in the men’s 71-kg final at China’s Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 4 as his opponent Kan Chia Wei of Chinese Taipei failed to compete because of injuries he suffered in the preceding match.

  Tsuyoshi Yaegashi won the lightweight gold medal in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, becoming the first Japanese to win a gold at Asiad.

  Already the 27-year-old Okazawa secured a berth in next year’s Paris Olympics by edging Aslanbek Shymbergenov of Kazakhstan in one of the semifinal matches on Oct. 3 as the top two boxers in the games are entitled to the right to take part in the Olympics.

  Meanwhile, Shudai Harada also secured a berth for the Paris Olympics as he earned a 3-2 decision over Rujakran Juntron of Thailand in one of the men’s 57-kg semifinal matches on Oct. 4.