Armenia’s 18-year-old Henrik Sahakyan won the bout of the finals at the Kolchin U22 Memorial Tournament
20 February 2022The thirteen final contests were held in the fourth and last session of the eighth edition of the Kolchin U22 Memorial Tournament in Orsha, Belarus. Armenia’s EUBC European Youth Champion Henrik Sahakyan won the bout of the finals in the city of Orsha where the Russians dominated the title contests.
The tournament was a preparation event before the upcoming EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships. The event dedicated in the memory of A. Kolchin the former honoured coach of the Republic of Belarus. The Kolchin Memorial Tournament was held in all of the 13 official IBA men’s weight categories from the minimumweight (48kg) up to the super heavyweight (+92kg). Boxers who were born in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 were eligible to attend in the 8th edition of the Kolchin Memorial Tournament.
The event took place between the strong Bocskai Memorial and the Strandja Memorial Tournaments but the interests were high as 91 boxers attended in Orsha. The men’s light welterweight (63.5kg) was the most crowded category with the participation of 14 boxers but the lightweight (60kg) and light middleweight (71kg) were also popular.
The safety of all participants, the continuous medical checks, the social distancing, the hygienic preparations, the check of the vaccinations, wearing masks and all of the health controls were the responsibility of the local organizers in Belarus avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the new edition of the 2022 Kolchin U22 Memorial Tournament.
The bout of the day
The Armenian boxers shined in the recent competitions including at the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships, AIBA Men’s Elite World Boxing Championships and other events. Their Henrik Sahakyan achieved gold medal in the youth continental event in Budva last October and joined to the U22 age group this January. The 18-year-old Armenian had a tough final opponent, Russia’s Evgeniy Zhorov who achieved silver at the Kielce 2021 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. The Armenian talent used amazing footwork in their contest and took the lead on the scorecards after three minutes of fight. Sahakyan controlled most of the exchanges despite of Zhorov’s attacks and won their flyweight (51kg) final with amazing performance.
The surprise of the day
Serbia’s Almir Memic earned bronze medal at the 2020 EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships and attended at the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships and at the AIBA Men’s Elite World Boxing Championships last year. The 19-year-old Serbian is an energetic boxer but he was not the favourite against Russia’s Sergei Sergeyev in the final of the middleweight (75kg). The Serbian boxer moved forward without any stoppage and caught the Russian talent with strong punches and it paid off in Orsha where he became the champion of the weight class.
The Round-Up
Russia’s Dmitriy Dvali is newcomer in their U22 national team but he had plenty of international experiences from the youth competitions. The young Russian talent moved up to the bantamweight (54kg) and defeated strong opponents during his road to the final in Orsha. Dvali faced in the final with an older boxer, Belarus’ Ramil Aliyeu who has already six years of international experiences. The Russian boxer gained the control of their final in the first round and he worked hard to beat the local favourite.
Belarus’ Ilya Vorobiov earned medals in several international competitions and he qualified for the Budapest 2018 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. After three and half years of experiences in the U22 and elite age groups, he is now not only a talent but member of their national team. The 21-year-old Belarusian met in the final with Russia’s new sensation, Eduard Savvin who was born also in 2000 as Vorobiov. The Russian boxer shocked the local hope with his effectiveness that means Savvin earned his next tournament title.
Russia’s Aleksey Dronov won all of the three big youth competitions in 2018, the Youth Olympic Games, the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships and the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships. The currently 20-year-old boxer is one of the top super heavyweight (+92kg) hopes in the whole European continent and he proved his developments in Orsha. Dronov met with his teammate, Evgeniy Ryabtsev in a unique re-match and he landed the stronger punches to win their next meeting which was selection for the EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships.
