Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas: All you need to know about Amit Panghal's Round of 16 opponent

Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas (in blue)

All eyes will be on World Championships silver medalist Amit Panghal as he makes his Olympic debut in Tokyo on Saturday morning. Having received a bye in the first round, the top seed will begin his campaign against Colombia's Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas in what could be an exciting bout.

Panghal will look to draw inspiration from Lovlina Borgohain and fetch India another medal in boxing.

As Panghal kickstarts his Olympic challenge, here are a few things you should know about Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas.

#1 Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas is the Rio Olympic silver medalist

Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas made a stunning run to the final at the Rio Olympics five years ago before having to settle for silver. His dazzling five-win run came to an end at the hands of Uzbekistan's Hasanboy Dusmatov in a 0-3 loss.

#2 What is Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas' world ranking

Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas is currently ranked fourth in 49kg in the AIBA world rankings.

#3 How many medals has Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas won in his career?

The 29-year-old Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas has had a lot of experience competing at the highest level of the sport. Apart from the Olympic silver, he has collected a bronze medal from the 2017 World Championships and a silver from the 2019 Pan American Games.

The Colombian has dominated elite boxing competitions in Central and South American events as evident from his gold (2018) and silver (2014) at the Central American and Caribbean Games, and gold (2018) at the South American Games.

#4 Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas' road to the Round of 16

that's doubly so for the Flyweights, the top half of that bracket-tree is packed with excellent fighters, my personal fav among them being Yurberjen Martinez of Colombia, very pro-esque high paced pressure style, albeit smallish as he used to be a Light Fly
— Lord of The Fly's (@naotaBox) July 23, 2021

Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas started his Tokyo Olympic campaign with a commanding 5-0 win over Botswana's Rajab Otukile Mahommed. The 5-0 win should be a huge boost of confidence for the Colombian against Amit Panghal, who will be contesting his first bout of the tournament after a first-round bye.

However, Panghal has had the experience of winning medals from top tournaments and he will be ready for the challenge.

When is the Round of 16 bout between Amit Panghal and Yurberjen Herney Martinez Rivas?

Amit Panghal's Round of 16 bout against Colombia's Yurberjen Herney Martínez Rivas is scheduled for 11.00 am local time or 7.30 am IST at Kokugikan Arena on Saturday, July 31, 2021.

Also Read: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule