Lily Bassett, Ellen Joyce, Patricia Petriman, Andrea Buelga and Ekaterina Nesvetayeva all celebrated emotional quarter-final victories at the European U19 Boxing Championships in Loznica during the tenth 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
England’s multiple European Champion and the World Boxing U19 Future Cup winner Lily Bassett worked from closer distance against Turkey’s Azra Nur Cetin and she received some punches in the first round. The Turkish boxer was not only competitive but following her jabs, the referee counted the English star which made Bassett more active in the second part of the opening period. The 17-year-old English won the first round by 3:2 and she increased her tempo to beat the promising Turkish boxer who exceeded the previous expectations.
The surprise of the session
Spain’s Andrea Buelga surprised England’s Serena Mali in the first round with her effectiveness and she took a tight lead on the scorecards. The Spaniard moved forward to catch the taller English girl and she landed several clear shots while the English tried to keep her long in their 51kg battle. Buelga was more active in the decisive third round and the 17-year-old celebrated a well-deserved and emotional success in the quarter-finals.
The Round-Up
Russia’s rising star, Ksenia Vishnevskaya was patient in the first round against Belarus’ Kryststina Bantsevich and she looked for the best attacking angles. The Russian had great defensive skills and she avoided the Belarusian punches therefore she built up a massive advantage on the judges’ scorecards. Vishnevskaya won all of the three rounds in each scorecard and marched into the semi-finals of the championships at the 48kg.
Poland’s Katarzyna Gornisiewicz and Banuchichak Nasirli met for the next guaranteed medal at the women’s 48kg which delivered a tight success for the Azeri girl. Nasirli was silver medallist in the last edition of the European U19 Boxing Championships and she remained her chance alive to win the gold in Loznica.
Ireland’s Ellen Joyce is the smallest in the women’s 48kg weight class but she had the smart style of boxing to catch and stop Romania’s Selin Ibram in their quarter-final bout, taking her nation’s first medal in Loznica. Her teammate, Kayleigh Byrne advanced to her second U19 semi-final after the Ostrava edition and she bagged the next Irish medal.
Hungary’s Patricia Petriman defeated Azerbaijan’s Gular Huseynova in the Brandenburg U19 Cup in Germany last month and she started the first round with impressive speed but she received a few punches from her European U17 Champion opponent. The Hungarian calmed down in the first break and she was more punctual and effective from the second round to beat Huseynova once again within one month of difference.
Slovakia’s Karolina Kollarova, the European U17 Champion, was the top favourite against Armenia’s Elen Papyan and she underlined in the first round that she is much better today. The 17-year-old Slovakian used her distance and longer hands well enough to beat and stop the smaller Armenian athlete. Russia’s Ekaterina Nesvetayeva also won her quarter-final in the same way as Kollarova, she stopped Germany’s Xenia Scharapinski.
Italy’s Rachele Perna is one of the most experienced female boxers in their national squad despite her age of 17. The Italian was a hard target for Greece’s Paraskevi Tsakalelli and she controlled most of the exchanges to win their 60kg quarter-final today. England’s Lexie Walker was dominant against Lithuania’s Migle Griskonyte and she also managed her pathway to the semi-finals in this weight.
England’s Rihanna Holden and Ireland’s Grace Bailey made a fantastic first round which was a good promotion of women’s boxing in Loznica. The Irish had strong efforts in the opening period and she had the perfect counter-attacks in the second round as well, building up a massive advantage after six minutes of fight. The Irish continued her nation’s impressive winning path and she became the first semi-finalist at the women’s 65kg weight class.