The seventh competition day at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships successfully started in Istanbul. Kazakhstan’s Dina Zholaman eliminated another continental champion in the bantamweight (54kg) which saw another final-level bout between Lacramioara Perijoc and Niamh Fay.
The winners at the flyweight (52kg), bantamweight (54kg), and the light welterweight (63kg) advanced to the quarter-finals during the last day of preliminaries.
Olena Savchuk is the next Italian quarter-finalist
Olena Savchuk has been invited to the Italian elite national team in 2019. She worked during the Covid-19 period very hard to reach the level of her teammates. The Ukrainian-descent Italian eliminated one opponent in the earlier stage of the Championships and today she stopped Germany’s Cathy Jean Satorius’ attacks in the first round. Her young German opponent competed between the minimumweight (48kg) and the flyweight (52kg) at the previous events. Today she was not active enough to get control against Savchuk. The Italian had an effective strategy against the younger German and Emanuele Renzini’s boer marched to the quarter-finals easily.
“I was born in Ukraine but I am proud to represent Italy in the competitions. This is my first IBA World Boxing Championships and I am now in the quarter-finals. I was better than my opponent today and I used this bout to prepare for my next important one tomorrow,” added Savchuk.
India’s Nikhat Zareen is in top shape
The new Indian head coach Mr. Bhaskar Bhatt selected a combination of experienced boxers and young prospects for the national team. Nikhat Zareen reached her first big achievement still in 2011 when she claimed a gold medal at the Women’s Junior World Boxing Championships. After 11 years of break, she returned to Turkey to get her next title and gave in everything against Mongolia’s Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg in her second contest in Istanbul. The Strandja Memorial Tournament winner Indian started relatively slowly in the first round but she performed much better in the second. The 27-year-old Mongolian southpaw is their most experienced female boxer but Zareen’s footwork was an unsolvable mission for her today.
“There was a difference between my first and second contests at these Championships. My opponents had different skills and physical conditions but I managed to beat both of them. I am now fully preparing for the big day, the quarter-finals tomorrow. This is my third time in Turkey, I succeeded in the previous two ones,” commented Nikhat Zareen.
Tonga made its debut at the Women’s World Boxing Championships
Tonga has never participated in any previous editions of the Women’s World Boxing Championships. Hainite Kayla Tuitupou became their first historical debutant. She represents Tonga in this event but trains in the United States. She switched from other martial arts to competing in boxing. The Tongan flyweight (52kg) boxer had an experienced rival on Day 7, England’s Charley Davison who eliminated Hungary’s Beata Dudek by a large margin in the previous stage. The English boxer returned to the competitions after a long break and since 2020 she is a fantastic prospect in her weight class. Tuitupou tried to adapt to tempo of the contest but Davison’s technical skills and strength were decisive in the contest in the second round.
“I was so nervous in my first contest a few days ago but I won. I calmed down after that bout, I was more focused today and I am preparing now for my next challenge, tomorrow’s quarter-final,” said England’s Charley Davison.
Perijoc eliminated the second favorite in Istanbul
Romania’s EUBC European Champion Lacramioara Perijoc eliminated the defending Women’s World Champion in the bantamweight (54kg), Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei in the Round of 32. In spite of her amazing success, the Romanian could not expect an easy contest against Ireland’s EUBC European U22 Champion Niamh Fay who is one of the most promising young boxers in the category. Both athletes used amazing rhythm already in the first round. None of them wanted to save any energy for the quarter-finals and both knew this was a key contest for them at the Championships. The Irish women had better defensive skills in the first round and four out of the five judges favored her. Perijoc has amazing stamina and she performed better and better in this final-level bout therefore she turned back this fight.
Zholaman defeated Delgado in the battle of the continental champions
The champions of two Confederations met in the next key contest of the 9th session in Istanbul. The boxers had different backgrounds; Kazakhstan’s Dina Zholaman is the defending ASBC Asian Champion, she won several other big events including the 2016 Women’s World Boxing Championships. Her Round of 16 opponent, Canada’s Scarlett Delgado is a newcomer to the national team and surprisingly she won the continental title at the AMBC American Elite Boxing Championships six weeks ago. Three out of the five judges favored Zholaman after the tactical first round. Both boxers had a a similar styles of boxing, and contest delivered tiny differences between the two champions but Zholaman managed to win the bout by using up her experiences.
“I had to work hard in this contest from the first seconds until the last bell to beat my Canadian opponent. It was not an easy contest, I am tired but ready for the next quarter-final challenge,” added Kazakhstan’s experienced Dina Zholaman.
Favorites of the light welterweight Khelif and Broadhurst marched to the quarter-finals
Algeria’s Imane Khelif is not only the best African female boxer currently but she is one of the stars of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. The Algerian is unbeaten since last August and used not only her height advantage against Latvia’s Beatrise Rozentale today but also her stronger combinations. The referee stopped their light welterweight (63kg) bout after the second standing count and confirmed Khelif’s RSC triumph. Another gold medal favorite in this weight class, Ireland’s two-time EUBC European U22 Champion Amy Broadhurst landed plenty of clear hooks and eliminated Bulgaria’s Aslahan Mehmedova.
“I had to use my jabs in this contest and my coaches asked me not to switch off and keep full concentration until the very end. I am still fresh for tomorrow but I believe my next contest will be more difficult than today’s one,” said Broadhurst.