The evening session of the second competition day of the European Games Boxing Tournament saw 19 more bouts being contested on the two rings of the Nowy Targ Arena, where 319 athletes are competing in 13 events from June 23 to July 2. It was a session of mixed results and emotions. The host country Poland celebrated two victories, witnessing two of its athletes advancing in the tournament. However, one of the most anticipated boxers, reigning European Games champion Loren Berto Alfonso Dominguez from Azerbaijan, was defeated in his very first bout. Sharing the spotlight, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion Busenaz Surmeneli from Turkie lived up to the expectations of her fans, breezing through her preliminary bout effortlessly.
There are 44 Olympic Quota Places (22 men, 22 women) at stake, in this first leg of the Boxing Road to Paris qualification pathway. The qualification slots will be awarded to the best athletes in each event (see the Qualification System for details), so passing these first preliminary bouts and moving on in the brackets of the tournament is a must for those chasing the Paris 2024 Olympic dream.
In the Women’s 54kg category, the session started strong with the Nowy Targ Arena cheering out loud for the local boxer Sandra Drabik (POL), competing in red. Boxing on her home turf, the young Polish athlete met France’s Delphine Mancini in a very close bout, and the cheering of the home crowd accompanied her to victory with a 4:1 split decision. Hanna Lakotar from Hungary also secured a 4:1 split decision win against Claudia Totova from Czechia. Italy’s Sirine Charaabi claimed a unanimous decision victory over Finland’s Emma Natalia Jokiaho, after putting her opponent down twice in standing counts during rounds 2 and 3. Lenuta Lacramio Perijoc from Romania emerged victorious against Zeynab Rahimova from Azerbaijan as the referee stopped the contest just 44 seconds into the first round.
Moving on to the Women’s 66kg category, Busenaz Surmeneli from Turkie, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion, had an easy victory in her bout against Austeja Auciute from Lithuania, recording an unanimous decision and advancing toward the next phase of the tournament and the Paris 2024 qualification slots. Anna Luca Hamori from Hungary dominated her bout against Marketa Tojnarova from Czechia, securing an unanimous decision win with a full scorecard across the three rounds. Amy Broadhurst, the reigning European and Commonwealth champion from Ireland, showcased her skills once again as she outscored Milena Matovic from Serbia, winning via an unanimous 5:0 decision after dominating the third and last round.
In the Men’s 80kg category, Daniel Ilyushonok from Israel advanced into the tournament by knocking down Altin Shala from Kosovo 1 minute and 51 seconds into round 3. Estonia’s Stiven Aas secured a split decision in his favor, defeating Leo Cvitanovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 to 1 points. Murad Allahverdiyev from Azerbaijan finished in the spotlight with a dominant performance against Kevin Boakye Schumann from Germany, resulting in the contest being stopped by the referee at the 2:05 mark of the third round. Nikita Nystedt from Finland showcased his skills, outclassing Rudolfs Ozols from Latvia and forcing the referee to stop the contest.
In the Men’s 92kg category, reigning European Games champion Loren Berto Alfonso Dominguez from Azerbaijan suffered a setback in his very first bout, losing to Yan Zak from Israel by a split decision of 4:1 points after a closely fought match. A few minutes earlier, the Nowy Targ Arena burst into applause when the home athlete Mateusz Bereznicki from Poland secured an unanimous decision victory over Pavol Hrivnak from Czechia. Lewis Robert Williams from Great Britain outclassed his opponent Taulant Jakupi from Kosovo, who had to abandon the match during round 2, allowing Williams to advance in the tournament. Arkadii Kartsan from Ukraine also progressed to the next stage by defeating Filip Nenadovic from Serbia with an unanimous decision.
Photos of all bouts are available in the gallery section of this website, at https://boxing.athlete365.org/boxing-road-to-paris-2024/europ-photo-galleries/
Live action can be followed on European Games TV at: https://europeangames.tv/sports/boxing](https://europeangames.tv/sports/boxing
At the same time, information, results, schedules, and additional content by visiting the official website of the III European Games at https://results.european-games.org/EG2023/ENG/schedule/BOX/all-days/all-event .
As the competition continues, the intensity rises and the boxers strive to secure their places in the next rounds, inching closer to their Olympic dreams and the coveted Paris 2024 qualification slots. The Boxing Tournament of the III European Games continues tomorrow, June 25, with the first session of day-3 scheduled at 13:00. Stay tuned!
