Impressive junior contests were held in the second competition day at the Gheorgheni Open Tournament in Romania where the boxers are enjoying the nice environment. A Romanian schoolboy, Catalin Banica impressed in the second day of boxing when Hungary’s Zalan Doka and Austria’s Saifullah Saidoulaev were amazing too.
Altogether 212 boxers are attending in the Gheorgheni Open Tournament in the two age groups. 81 junior male, 32 junior female, 82 schoolboys and 17 schoolgirls are competing for the medals and titles in the Open. The Technical Delegate of the Gheorgheni Open Tournament is Mr. Henrik Tavio of Finland.
This is the Romanian Boxing Federation’s third international event in 2022 after the Brasov Open and the Golden Belt. The first edition of the Gheorgheni Open is being held for the junior girls and boys, furthermore the schoolgirls and schoolboys. The new international tournament is a preparation event for the upcoming EUBC Schoolboys & Schoolgirls European Boxing Championships and the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships.
The bout of the day
The Romanian schoolboys are in excellent shape at the Gheorgheni Open and many of their boxers eliminated their rivals in the first and second competition days. The event is the last selection for them before the EUBC Schoolboys & Schoolgirls European Boxing Championships therefore the result of the bouts are important for their youngsters. Catalin Banica had a unique contest against his teammate, Ciprian Traian Gogan in the quarter-final of the schoolboys 40kg weight class. Banica knew his rival from the past and his efforts were enough to beat Gogan in a superb bout which means he will now meet for the final with Israel’s Artur Eytan Prohnevsky.
The surprise of the day
Hungary’s Zalan Doka competed mainly national events in the previous two years and the Gheorgheni Open is very important in his boxing career. The Hungarians are using the event as selection between three boxers at the junior middleweight (75kg) and among them two won on Day2. Doka surprised Greece’s Brasov Open Junior Tournament silver medallist Eleftherios Tsevrenidis with his strength and his energetic attacks guaranteed his advantage on the judges’ scorecards. The Hungarian boxer’s shots were strong and the ringside doctor stopped the contest in the second due to the injury of the Greek talent.
The Round-Up
Bulgaria sent their best junior boxers to the Gheorgheni Open and their talents won several contests on Day1. Angel Dimitrov is one of the favourites at the light flyweight (48kg) in the event and the junior hopeful eliminated Azerbaijan’s Faig Mollayev winning the bout by unanimous decision. Another Bulgarian shined in the second day of boxing, EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships bronze medallist Konstantin Kostov was too smart for Romania’s Iosif Bandula at the lightweight (60kg).
Croatia’s Ivan Mikulic achieved a gold medal at the 2022 Croatian Junior National Championships and he received the chance to compete internationally in Gheorgheni. The Croatian talent was quicker than Romania’s Costi Laurentiu Niculae in the second day of boxing and won their bantamweight (54kg) contest. His teammate, another Junior National Champion, Josip Grgic, who trains in the famous Sesvete BK, had the clear dominance against Israel’s Maimon Kinaneh and advanced to the next stage of the welterweight (66kg).
Moldova’s Pavel Papusa lost his first preliminary bout at the 2021 Junior National Championships but in Gheorgheni he proved massive development. The Moldovan talent moved up three categories and competes at the light welterweight (63kg) this year but he has the speed to control his contests. Papusa faced Israel’s Aleksii Liamin in the Gheorgheni Open and he had the strong motivation to land shots from all of the possible angles. The Moldovan won two out of the three rounds in their meeting which was enough to advance to the next round in Gheorgheni.
Austria sent only one talent to the Gheorgheni Open but Saifullah Saidoulaev is one of the big names of the competition. The Austrian middleweight (75kg) boxer opened his campaign with a strong success on Day1 and he had to fight also on the second. The 16-year-old boxer faced Romania’s EUBC European Schoolboys Boxing Championships quarter-finalist Stefan Mario Teodosescu who joined the junior age group this January. Saidoulaev had impressive attacks in the first exchanges and after his powerful shots, the Romanian ringside decided to abandon the unequal contest.
