AP PHOTOS: A 12-year-old boy in Mongolia finds joy in boxing and now dreams of the Olympics

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – Twelve-year-old Gerelt-Od Kherlen couldn’t contain his excitement after winning the bronze medal at the Mongolian national children’s boxing championship.

In September, his father heard about the opening of the Mongolian Boxing Academy near his home in Dambadarjaa, a tent-filled neighborhood on the outskirts of the capital, Ulaanbaatar. The boy was restless. Now his parents are relieved.

“We are happy that our son has found his passion and hobby,” said his mother, Narantetseg Narantsogt. He played chess at school, but the program was discontinued, she said. When they heard about the new boxing club, “we decided to send him because it will stop him from playing on his smartphone and watching too much TV at home.”

Mongolia is the land of legendary conqueror Genghis Khan and contact sports are part of a warrior tradition. Mongolians have won Olympic medals in boxing and other individual sports such as wrestling and archery.

Gerelt-Od was already strong. Growing up in a neighborhood without running water, he fetched water every day for his family. He also chopped firewood, which he says helped him develop patience and resilience.

The boxing gym taught him and dozens of other kids how to punch and avoid getting hit. Gerelt-Od trained more than two hours every day before going to school.

Less than a year later, he was among more than 400 boxers ages 10 to 14 at the national championships. His third place in the 32-kilogram (70-pound) 10- to 12-year-old weight class surprised his family.

He now wears a T-shirt with pictures of famous Mongolian boxers and dreams of becoming an Olympic champion.

His father, Kherlen Nasantogtokh, said the family wanted to give credit to the academy’s trainers who chose to work with children in a modest district who, like their families, are still in transition.