Thai hopes end with Kaew's defeat

The 31-year-old Kaew, the only Thai to make it to the quarterfinals in Azerbaijan, struggled to cope with the Chinese’s precise punching, going down 148.
But the Khamphaeng Phet native found solace in defeat, having already booked his berth in next year’s London Olympics by reaching the last eight
“He’s really difficult to box against. He stepped away very quickly and refused go toetotoe throughout the bout,” said Kaew.
“I need to improve on my physical strength and stamina in case I meet him again in London. I have to train harder from now on. I’ll give full attention to the training before the Games.”
Two Thai fighters, Chatchai Butdee and Sailom Ardee, need to wait for another crack at an Olympic berth following thirdround defeats.
Against Welshman Andrew Selby in the 52kg category, bantamweight Chatchai traded blows from the opening but found himself behind 5-6 at the end of the first round.
The aggressive Chatchai appeared to have no answer to Selby’s hit-and-run tactics, slipping further behind to 914.
Despite his cagey technique, Selby was able to secure an emphatic 25-12 win, leaving the Thai with his eye on another shot at an Olympic spot via the second leg of qualifying in Kazakhstan next year.
In the lightweight division, Sailom came up against Yasnier Toledo of Cuba, ranked world No 3 in the 60kg class.
The Thai stood toe to toe with his more fancied opponent but the Cuban edged him 5-3 with superior punching speed in the first round.
The gulf in class became more evident as the bout progressed, and Toledo romped to a resounding 20-9 victory.