Russian featherweight Alexei Tichtchenko beat DPR Korean Kim Song Guk 39-17 on points Saturday to take the gold of the 57kg category in the boxing tournament of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

This was the first boxing gold for the powerful Russians at this Games as they still had the chance to win two more in middleweight and super heavyweight.

In a lop-sided match, the Russian established a big lead of 13-2 in the first round and further expanded to 21-3 at the end of the second round. The DPR Korean caught up by one point in the third round but the match still ended with a 22-point margin for the Russian.

Tichtchenko's win was a great news to the gold-thirsty Russians, who seem to be losing a battle with the United States and China for the top positions on the medal tally of the Athens Games.

Russia, now ranked third with 20 golds in hands, was 11 golds behind the United States and 9 golds behind China as the Games only had one day to go.

Tichtchenko, who was not even a European champion, was not a hot favorite even inside the Russian boxing team, which sent 9 European champions to Athens.

And Kim's entry into the featherweight final was an even bigger surprise as he ousted the highly fancied German Vitali Tajbert, the 2004 European champion of the category, 29-24 on points in the Friday semifinals.

But his hope to grab the first gold medal for his country at this Games was ruthlessly shattered by the powerful Russian, who outclassed him both in attack and defense.

Vitali Tajbert and Jo Seok Hwan of South Korea, who lost to the Russian 25-45 on points in another semifinal match Friday, shared the bronze.