Croatia, Russia, Czech Republic, England, Turkey and Serbia are the first medallist nations at the European U19 Boxing Championships in Loznica following the busy ninth session.
Altogether 354 boxers from 36 nations are participating for the 20 titles and the 80 available medals in the European U19 Boxing Championships.
Boxers who were born in 2008 and in 2009 are eligible to participate in the European U19 Boxing Championships in Loznica.
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine are the participating nations in Loznica.
The bout of the session
Lithuania’s best U19 hope in the competition, Jelizaveta Jakimova had to wait until the fifth competition day to step into the ring in Loznica. She won several preparation tournaments this year including the Brandenburg U19 Cup and she opened the first round in attacking style against Ireland’s Carley O’Herron. The 18-year-old Lithuanian proved that she is one of the favourites at the women’s 54kg weight category, eliminating a good Irish girl from the competition.
The surprise of the session
Armenia’s Eva Khlghatyan won her opening bout in the Round of 32 two days ago but she had a hard tactical job against Bulgaria’s Margarita Parpulova. The Bulgarian had at least 15cm height advantage and she was able to keep her smaller Armenian opponent on long which looked perfect for her. Parpulova is a newcomer in the international stage but her physical skills decided their bout at the 54kg and she won the battle of the southpaw boxers in the first contest of the day.
The Round-Up
Ukraine’s Daria Liahotska competed in her first European Boxing Championships as an U15 boxer four years ago and she was more experienced than Germany’s Katalina Yaso. The smaller German launched several right-handed hooks in the first round but the Ukrainian dictated the tempo of this Round of 16 bout. The 18-year-old Ukrainian used her longer hands effectively in the second round to win their contest by 4:1 split decision.
Russia’s No.1, Kristina Borisenko won the 2024 edition of the European Junior Championships in Bosnia & Herzegovina and the 18-year-old is one of the stars of this competition in Loznica. She was relaxed and landed her punches with perfect timing to stop Switzerland’s best U19 girl, Maelle Bader who won international events in the recent two years. The Krasnodar-based Russian was too strong for the Swiss boxer and the referee confirmed Borisenko’s RSC success in the second round.
Sweden’s best U19 hope, the Golden Girl winner Medina Zaman moved back a few steps before she landed her counter-attacking punches in style to keep Azerbaijan’s European Junior Champion Amina Taghi on long distance. The 17-year-old Azeri used better strategy in the second round but Zaman’s great finish decided their close Round of 16 bout in Loznica and she became the first Swedish in the quarter-finals.
Russia’s Anastasia Golunova is the next ace in their women’s U19 team and she started the Round of 16 bouts at the women’s 57kg with a quick success. The European Junior Champion Golunova made strong pressure from the first seconds to beat Germany’s Charlotte Kienel and she celebrated her fast RSC victory. The next favourite of this weight category, England’s Siobhan Haley stopped Armenia’s Anahit Harutyunyan in another one-sided bout.
Ukraine’s Uliana Ovsepian had strong pedigree from the previous championships and international tournaments and she gave in everything to get the control from the first seconds against Belarus’ Darya Svilenak. The Ukrainian performed well in the first and second rounds but she proved her very best in the third, destroying her opponent’s defence therefore Ovsepian marched into the last eight at the women’s 57kg. Hungary’s 17-year-old Zsofia Kiss made the same technician performance against Romania’s Rebeca Micaela Muller.
Spain’s Cristina Peinado and Poland’s Oliwia Wasiakowska made a fantastic preliminary bout at the 57kg, both boxers wanted to win their meeting and fought until their last drop of energies. The Spaniard performed better in the first and second rounds therefore she won their exciting meeting in Loznica. Greece’s Dimitra Kapsimali shocked Ireland’s Leah Hutch in the next 57kg bout, she stopped her rival in the second round, while Serbia’s Jovana Devetakovic won her bout even quicker.
Croatia’s Lorena Horvat, the European medallist, looked highly confident against Sweden’s Paradisia Smesem in the first round and she felt the distance. The Croatian had several excellent jabs in the second and she caught the 17-year-old Swedish with heavy blows in that period. Smesem looked exhausted in the end of the second round therefore Horvat’s dominance was even bigger for the final stage. Horvat earned the first guaranteed medal in the entire European U19 Boxing Championships, making Croatia proud.
Hanan Salmi was born from an Algerian father and a Czech mother and she is a new flag bearer at the women’s 75kg weight category. The Czech used her longer reach against Sudenaz Aydemir and she earned her nation’s first medal in the championship. Serbia’s Sonja Vuksic also impressed in this weight category, she eliminated Ukraine’s Iryna Onopriyenko with top performance.
England’s Shannon Warren and Thabiso Moyo both earned medals in the 2025 edition of the European U19 Boxing Championships in Ostrava and the duo have the target to earn the gold in Loznica. Warren eliminated Ireland’s Kaysie Cleere 70kg, controlling all of the three rounds in their quarter-final. Moyo, who has strong roots from Zimbabwe, used her technical skills to beat Poland’s Laura Szydlowska, therefore the duo are medallist once again.