AIBA Youth Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships in Kielce, Poland is opened. The grand ceremony took place at the Hala Legionow arena in Kielce without spectators and with limited numbers of guests due to safety measures. The ceremony was broadcasted via Youtube.

Minister of Sports of Poland Mrs. Anna Krupka, Polish Boxing Association President Mr. Grzegorz Nowaczek, AIBA Secretary General Mr. Istvan Kovacs, Mayor of City of Kielce Mr. Bogdan Wenta, Marshall of Województwa Swiętokrzyskiego Mr. Andrzej Betkowski, President of Suzuki Motor Poland Mr. Piotr Dulnik attended the ceremony.

‘Today our world is suffering not easy situation, Covid pandemic. A lot of sports competitions worldwide were canceled. Our young boxers were left without any possibility to compete. Today Poland is conducting AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships giving an opportunity to young people to fight,’ Mr. Kremlev said.

‘National Federations sent their boxers to compete at the world stage. I would like that tournament to happen. I am grateful for your support, for that our managers are thinking about athletes so they can participate in the competitions. We should organize the best conditions for our boxers, it is our mission. We are here for that,’ he added.

‘I want to thank the city of Kielce, the Polish Boxing Association President. The easiest solution was to cancel the event. However, nobody refused, and today we are here to open the competition,’ Mr. Kremlev concluded.

President of the Polish Boxing Association Mr. Grzegorz Nowaczek claimed that there are 414 boxers attending the 2021 AIBA Youth Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships, including 140 women and 274 men from 52 countries.

‘I express my gratitude to Mr. President Kremlev for the great confidence which he gave us to host the AIBA Youth World Championships. Our cooperation was nice and fruitful from the beginning. I would like to thank AIBA who supported the Championship with 2 million zlotych. I hope we will not let you down. I am satisfied that all teams came to Poland without any problems,’ Mr. Nowaczek said.

Mrs. Krupka added that the Ministry of Sport also supported the tournament financially.

‘The sport is continuing despite the pandemic. I wish all the participants good luck and success. I hope our athletes will be safe and sound,’ she claimed.

AIBA Secretary General Mr. Istvan Kovacs stated he feels in Poland “at home”.

‘My own boxing career started in Poland in 1988. That was 33 years ago when I won the Junior European Championships in Gdansk, the first milestone in my career. As you know, I won everything possible in amateur boxing. After my whole pro career, in 2002 I had my last fight also in Poland. Now I came back to serve boxing as AIBA Secretary General. I am grateful to the LOC and Polish Boxing Association, they did a great job during these challenging times. I am sure we will see a new generation of stars in Kielce. I wish everyone a lot of success and I hope everybody will enjoy the competitions,’ Mr. Kovacs claimed.

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