Germany’s Cinnia Hoffman and Estonia’s Artjom Kotlarski surprised their more experienced opponents at the 31st edition of the Brandenburg U19 Cup in Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany on Day1.
Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Seychelles, Sweden and Ukraine sent their teams to the Brandenburg U19 Cup.
Boxers from the 2008 and the 2009 age groups are eligible to participate in the Brandenburg U19 Cup in Germany.
The bout of the day
Azerbaijan’s Ali Baghishov was very active this year, he travelled from competitions to competitions with the U19 national team and he won most of his contests on these occasions. Azerbaijan’s pride at the men’s 60kg weight class proved his great technical skills today but Estonia’s new sensation, Artjom Kotlarski surprised him in the exchanges. The Estonian felt that he can catch a big scalp in this preliminary bout and he had the stamina in the third round to make that happen.
The surprise of the day
Germany’s Cinnia Hoffman competed in the last edition of the European U19 Boxing Championships in Ostrava last year but her experience level is not matched to Azerbaijan’s Banuchuchak Nasirli. The Azeri boxer claimed a silver medal in Ostrava last year and she amazed also in the preparation events in 2026. Hoffman exceeded all of her previous level of boxing, she felt the distance well enough and she eliminated one of the stars of the women’s 48kg weight class.
The Round-Up
Italy’s Rachele Perna joined the U19 national team this January but she had a busy program in the recent six months and she competed many international competitions to be in top shape for the major championships of the year. The Italian boxer controlled the opening bout of the entire Brandenburg U19 Cup against Germany’s Xenia Scharapinski at the women’s 60kg weight class.
Lithuania’s European Junior medallist Jelizaveta Jakimova and Sweden’s Medina Zaman both had impressive international results in the past but they had to meet each other in the first round of the event. The Lithuanian knew the strengths of the Swedish boxer and she tried to dictate the tempo in all of the three rounds to beat her rival today.
Germany’s Charlotte Kienel and Hungary’s European U17 silver medallist Zsofia Kiss knew each other very well from previous competitions and training camps. The German found the best distance earlier than her Hungarian opponent and she was able to eliminate for Youth Olympian rival unanimously at the 57kg.
Hong Kong has never competed any of the previous editions of the Brandenburg U19 Cup but the East Asian country sent their team to Frankfurt an der Oder. Their men’s 55kg boxer, Tang Kit Fu had a brave attempt to beat Azerbaijan’s Nihat Gasimov but his opponent was too experienced for him in today. Tang lost his opener in the event but Hong Kong’s participation in Germany is one of the unique results of the LOC of the Brandenburg Cup.
Sweden’s Ali Zaheer Changazi made rapid development in the recent half year and he defeated several stronger and more experienced athletes. The Swedish talent found the rhythm against Germany’s Ahmet Sarmout in the first round of their men’s 55kg meeting and he kept the full control of the fight until the last seconds.
Bulgaria’s Nikolay Ivanov had a crucial battle against Lithuania’s Edvin Drutel in the first phase of the men’s 85kg but he could reveal after the confirmation of the winner as he won their meeting by 3:2 split decision. Poland’s Kajetan Bajzert also had critical moments against Hungary’s Gyula Bozai in the same weight category but he also survived that challenge and he joined the next stage of boxing.
Georgia’s Emil Ismailovi is a tall boxer at the men’s 55kg weight class and he competed in various countries during his career. The 17-year-old talent was too experienced for Germany’s Michael Deisling and he looked also smarter in the exchanges. Ismailovi followed the well-built strategy in all of the three rounds and he bowed out of his way the German talent today.