Sixteen preliminary contests took place in one session during the second day of boxing at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. England’s Demie-Jade Resztan won a challenging tactical contest while Spain’s Marta Lopez Del Arbol celebrated her emotional success on Day2.
The Official Draw confirmed that Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, England, Fair Chance Team, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales will be representing the European Boxing Confederation in the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. The number of the European boxers is 118 in Istanbul representing 27 different nations.
Boxers at the minimumweight (48kg) competed for the last 16 in the second competition day and seven Europeans won their contests today. Forty-five preliminary bouts will be held in the next busy third competition day in Istanbul where several of the top boxers start their campaigns.
The bout of the day
England’s Demie-Jade Resztan was silver medallist at the 2019 EUBC European Women’s Boxing Championships in Alcobendas. The English minimumweight (48kg) girl had preparation events before this championship and she won important bouts this year. The English girl had a well-experienced South Korean opponent, Bak Cho Rong who had eight years of international routine but during the Covid-19 period she competed only in national events. The South Korean, who trains with former Canadian World Champion Ariane Fortine-Brochu, was too far from Resztan in the first round and kept extremely long distance. The English girl tried to reduce the fighting distance in the second round and she looked slightly better and effective in their tactical contest today.
The Round-Up
Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota achieved silver medal at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and she moved back to the minimumweight (48kg) which is perfect for her height and physical skills. The Ukrainian southpaw found her best rhythm in the second minute against Kenya’s Tokyo Olympian Christine Shisoka Ongare. Okhota felt the rhythm in the opening bout of Ring B against the East African who moved down one category since last year. The Ukrainian saved some fuel for the later actions but opened her campaign in Istanbul with a clear triumph.
Poland’s Natalia Rok joined to the national team in 2019 and decided to move down to the minimumweight (48kg). The Polish boxer followed the instructions of her coaches from the first seconds and she controlled her contest against Armenia’s Gayane Ter-Barseghyan. The Polish boxer is a native talent in our sport and she has now the experience to beat world-class athletes. Rok shared her power well and she looked fit in the third round to win their contest by unanimous decision in Istanbul.
Bulgaria’s veteran boxer Sevda Asenova was EUBC European Women’s Champion in 2016 and she is still in top shape after her perfect preparation. The Bulgarian boxer competed as many events as possible this year and arrived to Istanbul to get her next career highlight. The Bulgarian met with Tajikistan’s ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships silver medallist Sumaiya Kosimova and gained the control of the contest after one and half minute. Asenova was quicker than the 15-years-younger Tajik boxer and she could keep the control until the last gong to win this preliminary bout.
Spain’s Marta Lopez Del Arbol joined to the international events as youth boxer in 2017 and she qualified for the Budapest 2018 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. The Spanish boxer bagged bronze medal at the 2021 EUBC European U22 Boxing Championships but she could not expect an easy bout against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi. Lopez felt the distance well enough from the second round and she landed the better punches which guaranteed her advantage on the scorecards. The Spaniard was dominant in the final round and celebrated her well-deserved success in the second competition day.
Serbia’s Snezana Siljkovic returned to the national team with gold medals in the annual international tournaments and she was confident from the first seconds against South Africa’s Vuyolwethu Dila. The Serbian boxer, who replaced experienced Sandra Maran in the team, caught her South African opponent in the first round with tough shots. Siljkovic moved ahead more from the second round and she dominated that part proving that she knows more about boxing. Dila’s hands were down in the last round which gave the opportunity to Siljkovic to land shots and won their minimumweight (48kg) bout.
The quote of the day
“I did not reserve any power and energy to the next round, I wanted to win this first contest in Istanbul so much. I moved a lot, danced through my opponent and this was my strategy for today. I have to fill up my batteries but I have still four days until my next contest and I will analyse the Indian opponent,” said Spain’s Marta Lopez Del Arbol after her energetic success.