The twelfth edition of the EUBC European Schoolboys Continental Championships recently took place in Keszthely, Hungary.

After many entertaining and highly skilled bouts, it was the Russian delegation who impressed the most, as they repeated their performance in Dublin in 2013, with nine gold medals in Keszthely.

Athlete of the tournament
Russia’s Edgard Tcambov was the most experienced boxer in the entire championships, and looked to defend his title in Hungary.

The 14-year-old Russian was the only previous titleholder in the event who could take part in Hungary due to his young age, and therefore his expectations were high prior the championships.

Tcambov was too strong for Ireland’s Kane Tucker in the semi-finals, while he knocked out Serbia’s Nikola Simonovic in the final of the 62kg weight class.

The Russian boxer looked impressive in claiming another gold medal, and is ready to join the junior age group next January.

Team of the tournament
The Russian boxers topped the team rankings in Keszthely, proving their undoubted potential.

Besides Tcambov’s win, Nikita Golovkin (40 kg), Aleksandr Fedotov (41.5 kg), Ilya Popov (43 kg), Danil Utkevich (44.5 kg), Pavel Chazov (48 kg), Oleg Zharkov (52 kg), Emin Khatayev (54 kg) and Timur Shlashchinin (+76 kg) all claimed gold medals in Keszthely.

Surprise of the tournament
Denmark’s HSK Schoolboys Tournament winner Mahdi Hassan Jallaw had only previously claimed a solitary bronze medal in an international tournament last October, but his skills have improved since then, especially his tactical knowledge.

The 14-year-old boxer has had only 15 bouts during his career, but he was able to defeat all of his rivals in Keszthely.

Jallaw started with a narrow victory over Hungary’s Tician Lakatos, and continued his winning path against England’s British Schoolboys Champion Jake Henty, who was one of the gold medal contenders of the 50 kg weight class.

Italy’s Johnny Pezzinga and Russia’s Vadim Kudin were also defeated by the Danish star, whose final victory was Denmark’s first ever gold medal in the history of the EUBC European Schoolboys Continental Championships.

Ones to watch in the future
Hungary’s Schoolboys National Champion and Schoolboys National Olympiad winner Tibor Barbosu had to win the gold medal on home soil, and his efforts enabled him to come out on top in-front of his home fans.

The 14-year-old Hungarian hope was too strong for Ireland’s Barry McReynolds in the final of the 46 kg weight class, and secured the host nation’s first gold medal.

Germany’s Fabian Thiemke comes from a boxing family, as his elder brother Dominik is also a member of the national squad in the youth age group.

The 14-year-old hope is a boxer who needs to be watched in the future, following his triumph over Russia’s Akhmadgadzhi Rasulov.

Stat/fact of the tournament
Italy claimed four medals in the tournament, while Czech Republic, Israel, Serbia and Wales also secured at least one bronze in the championships, where 183 boxers competed.

Quote of the tournament
“It is an amazing feeling. I am European Champion now, and it is not so easy to find the perfect words for that success. I think I need some days to see this story clear and realise what happened with me in Keszthely. I could not do my best in the first round in my final bout against my Irish opponent, but to be honest I was too nervous. I could renew my tactics in the second frame, and the changes worked in the final,” said Hungary’s Tibor Barbosu after his final win in the championships.

List of gold medal winners in Keszthely
38.5 kg: Adam Hussain, England
40 kg: Nikita Golovkin, Russia
41.5 kg: Aleksandr Fedotov, Russia
43 kg: Ilya Popov, Russia
44.5 kg: Danil Utkevich, Russia
46 kg: Tibor Barbosu, Hungary
48 kg: Pavel Chazov, Russia
50 kg: Mahdi Hassan Jallaw, Denmark
52 kg: Oleg Zharkov, Russia
54 kg: Emin Khatayev, Russia
56 kg: Oleksandr Trutnev, Ukraine
59 kg: John Johnstone, England
62 kg: Edgard Tcambov, Russia
65 kg: Dmytro Maidakov, Ukraine
68 kg: Fabian Thiemke, Germany
72 kg: Jozsef Baranyi, Hungary
76 kg: Kirilo Kolesnik, Ukraine
+76 kg: Timur Shlashchinin, Russia

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