Italian EUBC European Youth Champions as Cordella and Di Serio won the first BIH Cup
14 March 2018Bosnia & Herzegovina’s first international event in 2018 their BIH Cup was held in Brcko in Bijeljina in the recent days. Italy’s EUBC European Youth Champions as Nicola Cordella and Raffaele Di Serio won the gold medals in Bosnia & Herzegovina besides Hungary’s two-time Olympian Zoltan Harcsa.
The Bosnian & Herzegovian Boxing Federation decided to host the competition in two cities Brcko and Bijeljina to increase the spread our sport in the country. Serbia, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary and Bosnia & Herzegovina achieved the gold medals in the first edition of the BIH Cup.
Following Nina Radovanovic’s success in the women’s flyweight (51kg) Serbia’s young but experienced female talent Andjela Brankovic did enough to win her featherweight (57kg) in Bijeljina. Brankovic claimed Serbia’s second gold medal following her triumph over Montenegro’s best female boxer Tamara Radunovic. Brankovic has been preparing to the upcoming EUBC European Confederation U22 Boxing Championships.
Greece’s AIBA Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships bronze medallist 21-year-old Nikoleta Pita dominated her lightweight (60kg) final against Austria’s Irene Friedl and celebrated her next title. Serbia’s teenage talent Jelena Zekic defeated Greece’s Paraskevi Mavrommati in the women’s light welterweight (64kg) before her strong teammate Milena Matovic proved her best against Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Jasmina Merdic in the last final of the female part of the competition.
Italy’s Nicola Cordella claimed gold medal in the EUBC European Confederation Youth Boxing Championships in Anapa two years ago and the light flyweight (49kg) boxer is planning to do big things among the elite competitors as well. The 19-year-old Italian used his quick counter-attacks to beat Serbia’s Sasa Suljic in the first final of the men’s event.
Cordella’s teammate Raffaele Di Serio won also gold medal in the EUBC European Confederation Youth Boxing Championships but one year earlier in Kolobrzeg, Poland. The 20-year-old Italian youngster, who qualified for the Hamburg 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships, did enough against Serbia’s Veljko Gligoric in the final of the bantamweight (56kg) to celebrate his gold medal.
Hungary’s Richard Kovacs also qualified for the Hamburg 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships as Di Serio coming from the same age group as the Italian talent. The Hungarian light welterweight (64kg) boxer, who trains in Nyiregyhaza with coach Lajos Nagy, felt the rhythm of his final against Austria’s Daniel Janicijevic and claimed gold medal in Bijeljina.
Hungary’s second gold medal was achieved by their two-time Olympian Zoltan Harcsa who claimed three bronze medals in the European continental events since 2013. The 25-year-old middleweight (75kg) boxer used up all of his experiences to control his fights over Montenegro’s Petar Marcic and Serbia’s Trifun Dasic in the BIH Cup.
Slovenia’s EUBC European Confederation U22 Boxing Championships Tadej Cernoga and his experienced teammate Denis Lazar defeated their Hungarian rivals in the finals delivering surprises in the BIH Cup. Austria’s Stefan Nikolic involved to the national team in 2014 and dominated the heavyweight (91kg) in Bosnia & Herzegovina’s international event.
