Flyweight preliminaries get 2017 AIBA Women’s Youth World Championships underway in Guwahati
November 19th, 2017 / IBA
Sunday saw the first day of action in the 2017 AIBA Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships, with nine bouts of Flyweight (51kg) boxing and the Opening Ceremony getting the week-long tournament in Guwahati underway in style.
Australia’s Indianna Heibloem looked in strong form as she out-boxed New Zealand’s Commonwealth Youth Games winner Shylah Waikai in the opening contest, setting up a tough tie against Kazakhstan’s Zhansaya Abdraimova, winner of her frenetic bout against France’s Johanna Wonyou. Ukraine’s EUBC European Confederation Women’s Youth Boxing Championships silver medallist Anastasia Lisinska then had to be at her very best to beat Charlotte Hoffmann, a late call-up to the Germany team. Lisinska will now face India’s Jyoti Singh in the last 16.
Beyza Saracoglu delivered an assured display against Sri Lanka’s Kumarage Watthe Imesha Sewwandi Fernando, the 17-year-old Turkish southpaw controlling the entire bout to set up a tough tie against Hungary’s EUBC European Confederation Women’s Youth Boxing Championships bronze medallist, Emilia Kondakor. Russia’s Ekaterina Molchanova earned a unanimous points win over Ireland’s Shauna Blaney, never letting up the pace and energy as she produced one of the performances of the first day. The Russian number one will now go toe-to-toe with Uzbekistan’s Khursandoy Kholmatova in the next round.
In the final bout of Day One, Tajikistan’s two-time National Champion Madina Gaforova exceeded all expectations as she edged a tight victory against China’s Wang Yan. After winning on four of the five Judges’ scorecards, Gaforova will now be hoping to build on her success when she meets Chinese Taipei’s Chen Tzu Hsuan on Tuesday afternoon. A celebration of local culture then rounded off Day One as the Official Opening Ceremony brought Sunday to a spectacular close. Monday’s second day of competition will see 30 bouts in total as the Light Flyweight (48kg), Bantamweight (54kg), Featherweight (57kg), Lightweight (60kg), Welterweight (69kg) and Middleweight (75kg) boxers take to the ring in Guwahati.
