Abdulaziz Khalid Alotaibi was one of Saudi Arabia’s strong performers at the 19th Asian Games, making it all the way to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by a formidable opponent from North Korea.

Alotaibi impressed in the men’s flyweight (51 kg) division as Saudi Arabia’s last remaining boxer, ultimately finishing in fifth place, and narrowly missing out on a medal and the coveted Olympic spot that comes with it.

Despite the disappointment of not qualifying for the Olympics at the Asian Games, the 21-year-old student at King Saud University remains determined to represent the Kingdom in Paris next year.

Hailing from Riyadh, Alotaibi is currently back in training, working hard toward securing his Olympic spot at the next opportunity taking place in February, which is the 1st World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Italy.

Around 12,000 athletes from 45 Asian countries participated in the 19th Asian Games, which concluded on Oct. 8  at the Olympic Stadium in Hangzhou, China.

“The Asian Games were the hardest championships I have ever competed in; the best boxers in the world — well most of them, they are from Asia,” said the pugilist. “Although I didn’t make history this time with a gold medal, I was happy to follow in my coach’s footsteps, he also made it to the quarterfinals at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.”

Alotaibi now trains at the Shabab Club under the watchful eye of his coach and mentor Ali Al-Ahmri.

The boxer’s parents have always encouraged him and his siblings to play different sports.

One of Abdulaziz’s three brothers, Abdulkreem, is also a boxer, while the other two are footballers.

Alotaibi started boxing at the age of 12 as a hobby, but quickly became a serious competitor in the sport.

With 33 fights under his belt, he has gained international experience by competing in the ASBC Asian Junior Championship (2017), the ASBC Asian U-22 Championship Uzbekistan (2022), the Kuwait International Boxing Championship (2022), and the Arab Sports Games (2023) in Algeria.

His preparation for the next qualifier starts next month at the Saudi Games which will take place in Riyadh from Nov. 26 to Dec. 10. Alotaibi snagged the gold medal last year in his category and hopes to repeat history.

“The Saudi Games is the largest sporting event in the Kingdom, and I thank God that I won a gold medal last year. It changed my life for (the) better,” he said. “The preparation for the Italy qualifying event will start from now, by participating in the second version of the Saudi Games as well as international training camps and hopefully another international championship before the qualifier championship in Italy.”

“The Asian Games meant a lot to me; it had always been a dream,” Alotaibi said. “Of course, it’s not just every boxer’s dream to qualify for the Olympics but every athlete’s dream. I am blessed to have the support of my friends, family, and my country on this journey to fulfil that vision.”