(JAN 16) The 2nd “Nations Cup” for Women, under the auspices of the EUBC, was held in Zrenjanin, Serbia between 8th and 13th January with a record entry of 167 boxers, 43 of whom were in the Senior elite division.

Zrenjanin is located in the eastern part of Vojvodina, Serbia and has some 76,511 citizens within its city boundaries. Some fifteen countries provided the 167 contestants with the largest squads coming from Kazakhstan (31), Serbia (29) , Russia (22) and India (20).

Several of the top ranked AIBA boxers were among those who came away with titles among them Bulgaria’s Stoyka Petrova who took the 51kg crown at the expense of Russia’s Galina Chumgalakova 7:3, whilst Hungary’s Bianka Nagy ‘disappointed’ the home fans by outpointing Serbia’s Teodora Manic 12:6 at 64kg.

Amongst the tournament’s other winners were England’s Lisa Whiteside (the world no.2 at 57kg) who was too strong for Croatia’s Anamarija Vujaklija – the latter being retired by her corner at the end of round one and Holland’s Nouchka Fontijn who had a very convincing 9:4 margin of victory over another highly rated Hungarian, Timea Nagy. This was arguably the best bout of the tournament.

England sent a small but strong team to Serbia and came away with two golds and two bronze . This is how England’s abae.co.uk reported their two gold medal successes:

“Senior 57kg: Final:

57kg Lisa Whiteside (Larches and Savick ABC, Preston, North West Region) v Anamarija Vujaklija (CRO) RTD 1

“Lisa had the Croatian boxer under pressure from the first bell, with a strong display of power and precise combination punching. She was able to switch from head to body at ease, giving her opponent a count twenty seconds into the first round. The brave Croatian recovered only to be put on the back foot straight away as Lisa looked to finish her task early. At the bell for the end of the first round, the Croatian corner had seen enough and retired their boxer”.

Youth 51kg Final:

51kg Crystal Barker (Bridgewater Salford ABC, North West Region and GB Boxing) v Sevara Tadzhikulova (Kazakhstan) 7:2

“A composed Crystal used her left hook lead to the head as her compact opponent came forward. A cagey first round finished 1:1. Crystal scored with two good left hooks in the second round and again in the third to open a four point lead going into the final round. The GB development boxer made good use of clever footwork well and two punch combinations in two phases proved to be her best weapon in the final round”.

In the senior 64kg class, the up and coming Laura Kelly won bronze though going under in the semi-finals to the eventual Silver medallist, Teodora Manic whilst in the Lightweight 60kg division, young Sandy Ryan also struck bronze.

“60kg Sandy Ryan (One Nation ABC, Derby and GB Boxing) Natalia Shadrina (Russia) 3:1

“In an impressive senior international debut, Sandy was faced with experienced Russian, Natasha Shadrina. The Russian nicked a single point advantage at the end of the first following a trademark left hook. Sandy, tightening her guard, moved well to try and close the gap, but neither boxer scored in the second. Both boxers upped their work rate in the third and the contest remained tight. The Russian responded to accurate shots from Sandy with left hooks, widening the gap to a two point lead, and as Shadrina tired, Sandy continued to box well with short left hooks, but was unable to make a difference to the scores”.

Serbia's teenage hope and European Women's Youth Championships competitor Milanka Tadic caused a big surprise when she defeated Russia's Yelena Khadzhi in the final of the Bantamweight (56kg) category. The 18-year-old, making her debut at the elite level, won each of the four rounds to inflict a heavy loss on her rival 13:3.

All in all, a very exciting tournament, which drew good crowds and was well organised by the Serbian boxing federation and Boxing Association of Vojvodina.

Finals: Women – Youth

48kg Alua Balkybekova KZK Ksenia Naumenko RUS AB 3
51kg Crystal Barker ENG Sevara Tadzhikulova KZK 7:2
54kg Alicia Holzken HOL Nikhat Zareen IND 10:4
57kg Aktolkayn Kengesbekova KZK Viktoria Lobacheva RUS 17:14
60kg Marija Pavlov SER Ulbala Almenova KZK 22:2
64kg Tamara Miloradovic SER Semra Bogucanin SER 6:4
69kg Darima Sartakova RUS Milica Terzic SER AB 1
75kg Anastasia Shamsutdinova RUS Anastasia Rylina KZK +15:15
81kg Milena Matovic SER Valentina Khalzova KZK 4:2

Finals : Women – Senior Elite

48kg Sevda Asenova BUL And¿elika Groñska POL 4:2
51kg Stoyka Petrova BUL Galina Chumgalakova RUS 7:3
54kg Milanka Tadic SER Elena Khadzhi RUS 13:3
57kg Lisa Whiteside ENG Anamarija Vujaklija CRO AB 2
60kg Natalia Shadrina RUS Firuza Sharipova KZK 5:2
64kg Bianka Nagy HUN Teodora Manic SER 12:6
75kg Nouchka Fontijn HOL Timea Nagy HUN 9:4
+81kg Yuldus Mamatkulova KZK Emeke Halas SER AB 2
 

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