Russia earned 10 gold medals in the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament
15 December 2019The 13 finals of the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament for the memory of Farman Salmanov were held in the city of Beloyarskiy. All of the five female weight classes were won by the Russians on home soil but the Central Asians also impressed in the men’s finals on Day4. The Russian team claimed finally 10 gold medals in the traditional competition which closes the year in the European boxing map.
The previous editions of the World Cup of the Petroleum Countries Tournament were held in Nizhnevartovsk, in Khanty-Mansiysk and in Surgut and the competition returned to Beloyarskiy after two years of break.
The World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament was held in five female and eight male weight classes and the total number of athletes is 127 in Beloyarskiy. Besides to the European boxing powers, Afghanistan, Angola, Ecuador, Venezuela, Tunisia, Morocco, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Thailand are also sent boxers to the four-day long competition which was taking place in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous region.
Bout of the day
Russia’s Ivan Veryasov claimed the title of the Dublin 2011 EUBC European Youth Boxing Championships who needed a few years to reach the top of the podium also among the elite athletes. The Russian National Champion at the super heavyweight (+91kg) used his distance well in the previous rounds of the competition but his final opponent was also a tall boxer, Uzbekistan’s ASBC Asian Youth Champion Lazizbek Mullojonov. The 20-year-old Uzbek delivered his best ever performance against his six-year-older rival and his great finish meant that Mullojonov was able to win the king category in the event.
Surprise of the day
Galina Golovchenko represented Ukraine in the beginning of the decade but after a few years of break she returned to compete for Russia in the international events. The 25-year-old boxer made surprises in 2019 and moved down to the welterweight (69kg) which was a success for her. Golovchenko was not the favourite against EUBC European Women’s Champion Darima Sandakova but she managed to use the best tactic against her technician rival in Beloyarskiy.
The Round-Up
Russia’s Svetlana Soluianova impressed in the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament in Beloyarskiy and claimed the first gold medal of the event. She was gold medallist at the 2018 EUBC European Confederation Women’s Boxing Championships in Sofia and she has been fighting to regain her top place in the national team. The 25-year-old boxer had to meet with another experienced hope Russia’s Aleksandra Kuleshova but Soluianova used her distance successfully in their final at the flyweight (51kg).
The second Russian female gold medal was achieved by Sofia 2016 EUBC European Women’s Champion Daria Abramova who won all of the three rounds against Tajikistan’s Mizhgona Samadova in the final of the featherweight (57kg). Natalia Shadrina who had a strong campaign also at the Ulan-Ude 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. The 29-year-old lightweight (60kg) boxer was too strong for Greece’s Nikoleta Pita and earned Russia’s third female gold medal in Beloyarskiy.
Kyrgyzstan’s Amman 2013 ASBC Asian Champion Azat Usenaliev competed in all levels of boxing excluding the Olympic Games but he is on full focus to be qualified for Tokyo. He won more than 90% of his international fights in the recent two years and claimed gold medals in several top international events. The 28-year-old Kyrgyz No.1 produced the best performance at the flyweight (52kg) in the whole event and remained on the top of the podium following his success over Ecuador’s teenager Luis Delgado.
Following Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Kattakulov’s gold medal at the bantamweight (57kg), Russia claimed the next title of the World Cup of the Petroleum Countries Tournament. Guseyn Magomedov is a young hope at the lightweight (63kg) but he performed world class in the whole competition. Magomedov did not underestimate one of the best African boxers in this weight class, Morocco’s Abdelhak Nadir and his strategy worked well in the final earning an important title in Beloyarskiy.
Russia’s Andrei Zamkovoy is the defending AIBA World Champion at the men’s welterweight (69kg) but he was unable to box in the final of the event against his teammate, EUBC European U22 Champion Vakhid Abbasov. Former WSB boxer and Russian National Champion Andrei Kovalchuk eliminated Italy’s Minsk 2019 European Games silver medallist Salvatore Cavallaro in the semi-finals of the middleweight (75kg) and continued his winning path against Uzbekistan’s Abu Nuranov in the final.
