The first edition of the Gheorgheni Open Tournament turned into its final stage in Romania, the junior semi-finals were on the official program on Day4. Hungary’s junior No.1, Krisztian Nileborg and Romania’s Istvan Szucs performed strongly against each other on the fourth day of boxing when the Bulgarians produced a fantastic session.
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
Hungary’s Krisztian Nileborg is one of the top European junior boxers who won all of his contests by large margin of differences in the previous one year. He had a tight loss at the Tbilisi 2021 EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships last July but since then he has amazed in all of his competitions. The 16-year-old light middleweight (70kg) boxer faced Romania’s Istvan Szucs in the semi-final of the Gheorgheni Open which bout became the best in the fourth day of boxing. The Hungarian-descent Romanian was highly competitive in this bout and delivered his best performance against one of the stars. Nileborg increased his rhythm in the beginning of the second round and his efforts were enough to win this difficult semi-final bout.
The Round-Up
Peter Benedek trains in the Godako Boxing Academy which is the host of the Gheorgheni Open. He won both the Romanian and the Hungarian Schoolboys National Championships in 2021 and joined the junior age group this January. Benedek represents the Hungarian team in the Gheorgheni Open and he had a powerful performance against Romania’s Daniel Adrian Fleseriu at the pinweight (46kg). The referee counted the Romanian boxer twice in the bout which guaranteed Benedek’s clear success which means the Hungarian can fight against another local talent for the title, Nicolas Boncu.
Romania’s 16-year-old Daniel Irofte competed at the 2021 EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships and his experiences paid off in the semi-finals of the flyweight (50kg) in Gheorgheni. He does not have an ideal opponent in the last four, Moldova’s Vladimir Melenciuc has strong technical skills. Irofte changed his rhythm in time to win this difficult contest, one of the tightest ones of the session and will now meet for the title with Azerbaijan’s Taghi Nasibov on Sunday.
Azerbaijan sent a strong junior team to Gheorgheni, their girls impressed in the third day of boxing which was continued by their boys on Day4. Azerbaijan’s Junior National Champion promising Mohammadali Ashraliyev dominated all of the three rounds against Romania’s Mihai Gheba and advanced to the final of the bantamweight (54kg). His final opponent will be Romania’s Florin Caldararu who bowed out Croatia’s Ivan Mikulic in the second semi-final of the weight category.
Bulgaria’s Viktorio Iliev participated in various international tournaments in Montenegro, Serbia and Georgia in 2021 when he joined the junior age group. The currently 16-year-old Bulgarian developed rapidly in the previous months and he was the strong favourite against Romania’s Arun Nicu Tudoroiu in the semi-finals of the featherweight (57kg). Iliev found his best rhythm against the local opponent in time to win the contest therefore he can meet in a top final with Azerbaijan’s Muhammadali Gazimzade who eliminated Greece’s junior No.1, Georgios Pleas.
Bulgaria’s next favourite in the Gheorgheni Open, the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships bronze medallist Konstantin Kostov had a clear pathway to the semi-finals at the lightweight (60kg). He faced the 15-year-old Hungarian, Andras Mailat in the last four and he had some difficulties in the first round. The one-year-older Bulgarian received strong advice in the first break and from the second round his strategy worked better to win this semi-final bout in Gheorgheni. Kostov’s teammate, Ivaylo Petrov had also a Hungarian opponent and the light heavyweight (80kg) boxer managed to beat Zsolt Dunai.
