Kazakhstan’s Anton Pinchuk (blue) finds himself in an unusual position against Iran’s Ali Mazaheri during their heavyweight boxing final but when it came to skill and class the Central Asian country called the shots on Friday. (Source: Reuters)

Kazakhstan’s conveyor belt of amateur boxing talent churned out six men’s champions at the Asian Games on Friday, while hosts South Korea took two titles to bring their 12-year barren run to an end in Incheon.

The final day of boxing crowned 10 men’s champions at Seonhak Gymnasium, with South Korean dynamo Shin Jong-hun getting the day off to a great start for the home crowd.

Known as “Sonic Man” for his relentless pace and perpetual motion, Shin scored a unanimous decision over Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov in the light flyweight category.

Already sporting heavy bruising around the eyes from earlier in the competition, Shin opened with a dazzling flurry and never let up for all three rounds, showing impressive balance and speed as he picked Zhakypov apart.

“I am really happy right now winning gold because in Guangzhou and London (Olympics) I had some failures but today I got a good result,” he said.

It was South Korea’s first boxing gold since 2002 in Busan after they came away from Guangzhou and Doha without a title. And there was more gold to come for the hosts in the bantamweight division when Ham Sang-myeong got the nod after a tight battle with China’s Zhang Jiawei.

All three judges went for Ham, who struggled to find his range in the opening round but closed the distance in the second and third to outwork and out-muscle Zhang.

The Chinese fighter clearly did not agree, turning away in disgust as the decision was announced, and was the only boxer on the podium not to proudly show off his medal to the banks of photographers below the ring.

Ham said a heavy camp that started in March at the National Training Centre in Taeneung had been the platform for South Korea’s renewed success.

“We trained four times a day — running early in the morning, then weights, then technique in the evening and more running at night,” Ham told reporters. “I think it worked well.”

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) decided last year to stop using headgear in events such as the Asian and Commonwealth Games, citing medical statistics showing the protective padding can cause jarring to boxers’ heads and contribute to brain damage.

Lim Hyun-chul, who lost to Thailand’s Masuk Wuttichai in the light welterweight final, said he had become used to fighting without it but that he had to adapt to getting cut more.

“I am comfortable without it now but since I get injured more I need to be more focused on treating wounds around my face,” he said. “But it is the same for my competitors as well, so I have no choice but to accept it.”

Kazakhstan’s boxers appear to have had no problem fighting without headgear in Incheon, putting seven men into Friday’s 10 finals and winning six golds. Middleweight Zhanibek Alimkhanuly and light heavyweight Adilbek Niyazymbetov caught the eye with impressive wins, while flyweight Ilyas Suleimenov took gold in a scrappy split decision win over Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov. “This success comes from the previous generation,” said Suleimenov. “Our head coaches are great and the boxing system and facilities in our country are well developed.”

Uzbekistan head coach Mars Kuchkarov was far from pleased with the judging in Incheon after both his boxers came away with silver medals on Friday. “You know, Asian Games referees’ qualification is very bad,” he said. “It was unfair. This is not sports anymore but politics. That’s all.”

The final bout of the day was a super heavyweight clash of Kazakh and Iranian titans Ivan Dychko and Jassem Delavari. Dychko landed more of the few clean punches that found their mark to earn a unanimous decision and give Kazakhstan their sixth gold medal of the day.