The nine women’s finals delighted the crowd at the Heydar Aliyev U17 Cup at the Baku Boxing Center in Azerbaijan. Georgia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Kazakhstan and the individual athletes shined in the session which showed the potential of several young hopes.
Boxers from the 2010 and 2011 age groups are eligible to participate in the Heydar Aliyev Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan which is another traditional event and it was named after Mr. Heydar Aliyev who served Azerbaijan as President of the State between 1993 until his death in 2003.
The Heydar Aliyev Cup is a preparation event for the European U17 Boxing Championships which will be held in Budva, Montenegro on October 1-11.
The bout of the day
Georgia’s new flag bearer in women’s boxing, Elena Karchava claimed a gold medal at the European U15 Boxing Championships in Budva and she joined the U17 age group this January. The 15-year-old boxer had the hardest battle in the female finals in Baku where she met an individual athlete, Arina Kmita. Karchava used her excellent footwork and technical skills to find the best angles and she won the hardest battle in the day of the women’s finals.
The surprise of the day
Kazakhstan’s Akerke Dalabay earned a gold medal at the Asian U15 Boxing Championships and she is one of their high hopes at the U17 age group this year. The 15-year-old Kazakh managed her pathway to the finals of the women’s 66kg weight class but she suffered an unexpected and close defeat to Azerbaijan’s Sama Abbasova.
The Round-Up
Azerbaijan’s Aysel Farajova had a powerful start at the Heydar Aliyev U17 Cup, her success over Kazakhstan’s Diana Aitbayeva was one of her career highlights which was a close bout in the second session. The 16-year-old local boxer not only advanced to the finals of the women’s 46kg weight class but she had the next peak performance against another Kazakh talent, Dana Orazbekkyzy.
Azerbaijan’s female boxing life turned to a new era in 2022 and in 2023 when the country had the potential to win medals in the level of the European Boxing Championships in several age groups. Their Aydan Ismayilly is not experienced yet but she worked hard in the final of the women’s 48kg to beat Yegana Rahimova in Baku.
Estonia’s best female boxer in this age group, the highly decorated Alisa Gerassimovitch, a European medallist talent, controlled all of her bouts with strong attacks in Baku. The Baltic boxer gained the control of her final over Azerbaijan’s Fatima Mammadli at the women’s 50kg weight class and she was able to beat her rival unanimously.
Another talented independent athlete at the Heydar Aliyev U17 Cup, Anna Belenkova worked hard from the first seconds in her final to beat Georgia’s Melano Jakeli at the 54kg weight class. The final result was 3:2 split decision in the favour of Belenkova, while Kazakhstan’s Shugyla Slamzhan also had the same tough battle in her title bout at the 57kg. The Kazakh talent made a superb final round against Azerbaijan’s Jamila Muradli, which needed to win the gold medal in Baku.
Georgia’s Anastasia Chokoraia has elegant and beautiful technical skills and she prepared to show her current boxing knowledge so well to the public during the Heydar Aliyev U17 Tournament. The Georgian stopped most of her opponents before the final gong and she was also exceptional to beat Daria Astapchik, an individual athlete at the 63kg, controlling all of the three rounds.
Georgia’s next female gold medal was captured by Liza Lobjanidze, a super talented boxer at the 70kg weight category in Baku. Lobjanidze, who has strong family relations to boxing, won two out of the three rounds, therefore the entire final bout over Azerbaijan’s Ramziya Mirzoyeva. Lobjanidze had to just moved up from the U15 age group in the recent months but she could be a favourite at the European U17 Boxing Championships as well.