Boxer Purevdorj Serdamba (24) has won Mongolia’s first-ever World Championship gold medal at the 2009 AIBA World Boxing Championships, held in Milan, Italy from September 1 to 12. The Olympic silver medalist Serdamba beat Russia’s David Ayrapetyan 10-5 to win the light-flyweight world title on Saturday, 12 September. Serdamba beat Slovakian, Brazilian and Armenian boxers and went on to beat China’s Li Jiazhao 11-7 in the semi-final. Serdamba had been defeated by David Ayrapetyan at the 2007 Chicago Championships. Due to a shoulder injury, Serdamba had also been beaten by China’s Zou Shiming in the 48 kg final at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The Milan boxing ring was therefore Serdamba’s opportunity for a rematch to reclaim his loses.

Mongolian boxers claimed three medals, including a gold, a silver and a bronze, at the 2009 Milan Championships and, with this achievement, Mongolia is now ranked 5th out of 146 countries.
Another Mongolian boxer to claim a silver medal was 17-year-old N. Tugstsogt, beating Russia’s Misha Aloyan in the 8-7 flyweight (51kg) in the semi-final. He also beat the Indian, Slovakian, Irish and Italian boxers but the young Mongolian was beaten in the final by Pan-American and Central American champion, Puerto Rico’s 23-year-old McWilliams Arroyo.

Mongolia’s World Cup silver medalist, U. Monkh-Erdene, won a bronze medal after being beaten by Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo a light-welterweight gold medal winner.

Previous wins recorded by Mongolian boxers include three silver medals and a bronze at AIBA World Boxing Championships; namely, D.Otgonbayar won Mongolia’s first silver medal at Munich in 1982; E.Tsogtjargal won a bronze at the 1993 World Boxing Championships in Finland; T. Uitumen claimed a silver medal in Budapest, Hungary in 1997,
and Olympic winner E. Badar-Uugan won a silver at the World Boxing Championships in Chicago two years ago.