Malenica and Rapajic were the best girls at the Balkan Boxing Championships on Day2
13 December 2019The female boxers also started their campaigns in the Balkan Boxing Championships which is holding in the city of Antalya in Turkey. Croatia’s Marija Malenica won the tightest bout of the second competition day but among the girls the main surprise was taken by Serbia’s Aleksandra Rapajic.
Antalya hosted many top events in the recent 10 years including the AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Boxing Championships in 2011 and the EUBC European Youth Boxing Championships in 2017. The following 11 nations are attending in the Balkan Boxing Championships: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia Slovenia, and Turkey.
Bout of the day
Croatia’s Marija Malenica returned to the world of boxing after a short break and opened the year with a gold medal at the Nations Women’s Cup in Serbia. The Croatian boxer moved down to the lightweight (60kg) due the Olympic possibility and arrived to Antalya to win the Balkan Boxing Championships. Malenica had to meet with Romania’s EUBC European U22 Women’s Boxing Championships silver medallist Cristina Cosma in the semi-finals of the division. Both boxers landed high number of punches but due Malenica’s great finish, the final success was achieved by the Croatian hope.
Surprise of the day
Turkey’s Gulizar Kara has been attending in the international events since 2013 and the welterweight (69kg) boxer was more experienced than Serbia’s Aleksandra Rapajic. The 27-year-old Turkish boxer started slightly better than her Serbian rival but Rapajic received strong advices in the first break. The young Serbian exceeded the expectations in their contest and defeated the local favourite in a key female contest.
The Round-Up
The Romanian boxers did not start the opening day of the Balkan Boxing Championships well but their National Champion 19-year-old Gabriel Schiopu proved better performance in the second day of boxing. The Romanian flyweight (52kg) boxer landed quickly tough punches and shocked Serbia’s Aleksandar Jovanovic in the first minute of their fight. Schiopu’s energetic attacks delivered for him a fast RSC success which was confirmed by the referee still in the first round. His teammate George Dumitrescu achieved Romania’s second success on Day2 who defeated North Macedonia’s Jasin Lama.
The strong Turkish male boxers started well in the first session of the Balkan Boxing Championships following their preparation camp which was held with the Iranians together in Tehran. Their next boxer in action was Batuhan Ciftci who has got enough experiences in the AOB and WSB events to win the whole event in Antalya. The Turkish boxer won all of the rounds in each scorecard against Kosovo’s newcomer Bashkim Bajoku and advanced to the next stage of the competition.
Alen Rahimic trained in Germany in the recent years but he has been competing for his grassroots Bosnia & Herzegovina in the international events. Rahimic attended in several top events in 2019 and he is among the experienced boxers at the bantamweight (57kg) in spite of his age of 21. The Bosnian & Herzegovian boxer found his best rhythm in time against Albania’s Ardit Murja and won his opening contest in Antalya.
Kosovo’s EUBC European Women’s Youth Champion Donjeta Sadiku is 20-year-old and aiming for a place in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Kosovan light welterweight (64kg) boxer was better in all aspects of boxing than Romania’s Dana Borzei and advanced to the final of the Balkan Boxing Championships. Another top Kosovan athlete, 19-year-old Shpetim Bajoku controlled his fight against Bulgaria’s Vensan Kirkorov and won his key contest at the men’s lightweight (63kg).
