Hasanov and Tuniyeu advanced to the semi-finals at the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament on Day3
13 December 2021Twenty-two contests were held in the third day of boxing at the 18th edition of the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament in Nizhnevartovsk, Russia. Azerbaijan’s Malik Hasanov surprised his well-experienced Russian opponent in the third competition day while Belarus’ Artur Tuniyeu was also highly confident in the session.
The World Cup of the Petroleum Countries Tournament returned to the boxing map after two years of break. The event was held in Beloyarskiy and Khanty-Mansiysk in the previous years but relocated to the city of Nizhnevartovsk this time. The women’s and men’s elite tournament is dedicated to the memory of Farman Salmanov and welcomed boxers from various Confederations and nations from several parts of the world. Altogether 34 female and 105 male boxers are competing for the 19 available titles in Nizhnevartovsk.
The safety of all participants, the continuous medical checks, the social distancing, the hygienic preparations, wearing masks and all of the health controls are the responsibility of the local organizers in Russia avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the new edition of the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament.
The bout of the day
Russia’s Bakhtovar Nazirov claimed gold medal at the Baku 2015 European Games when he was only 21-year-old but in the recent years he was not able to repeat that strong performance. The experienced Russian had a hard job against Azerbaijan’s Umud Rustamov who shined in the recent international tournaments. Nazirov landed strong punches in the first round but Rustamov was hard target and he had excellent footwork in their contest. The Russian boxer gave in everything and caught his younger Azeri opponent a few times to win their difficult featherweight (57kg) contest.
The surprise of the day
Malik Hasanov is a new face in the Azeri national team but the young boxer exceeded all of the expectations in his debut at the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament. Hasanov met with Russia’s Kagir Minatullaev who has got eight years of international experiences from various events. The Russian boxer did not underestimate his Azeri rival but he had tough job against Hasanov in the first round. The Azeri youngster felt the best combinations against Minatullaev and caused a surprise in their light welterweight (63.5kg) quarter-final.
The Round-up
Belarus’ Artur Tuniyeu was born in 2000 but he competed in the international stage already in 2015 as a junior talent. He developed rapidly in the previous one and half year and used this period to increase his experiences among the U22 and elite boxers. The 21-year-old Belarusian is one of the new sensations at the lightweight (60kg) and he opened the first round against Russia’s Damir Subkhankulov with high confidence. Tuniyeu won all of the three rounds in each scorecard and advanced to the semi-finals of the weight class.
Tajikistan’s Mizhgona Samadova achieved bronze medal at the 2021 ASBC Asian Women’s Boxing Championships and after three years of experiences in the national team, she impressed at the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament. The 23-year-old Tajik girl eliminated Russia’s Malika Shakhidova in her next appearance and remained her chance alive to win the featherweight (57kg). Chile’s sensation, ex-Italian Valentina Bustamante did not give any chance to Mongolia’s Battur Zoljargal and she is also near to win the tough lightweight (60kg) in the women’s part of the event.
Russia’s Maria Shishmareva won several big events including the AIBA Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships and the EUBC European Women’s Youth Boxing Championships during her career as a teenage talent. The currently 23-year-old boxer amazed against Yulia Arefieva at the women’s heavyweight (+81kg) and advanced to the final of the strong category. Her teammate, Diana Pyatak proved also strong skills and eliminated the current Russian National Champion of the weight class.
