Aidos Usenov and Ruslan Akhmetov won their opening bouts at the youth (U19) World Boxing Championships in Budva, Montenegro. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
In the 55 kg weight category, Usenov faced Romanian Razvan-Ionut Panainte in the 1/16 finals. The Kazakh won by unanimous decision – 5:0. To advance to the quarterfinals, our boxer will face Cuban Iverson Acosta.
Akhmetov, competing in the 85 kg category, also defeated Bulgarian Nikolay Ivanov by a 5:0 score. In the 1/8 finals, Akhmetov will fight Russian Kirill Korshakov.
Earlier, Vladislav Samozhonov, Akzhurek Kalabay and Aisulu Mukhit secured their first victories at the world championships.
The youth (U19) World Championships are taking place in Budva from October 16 to 27. The tournament features 474 athletes competing for medals in ten men's and ten women's weight categories. The Kazakh team is represented by a full roster of 20 boxers.
The Kazakh men's U19 team won eight medals at the July Asian Championships in Jakarta – two gold, four silver and two bronze. The champions were Bibarys Ashirbay (70 kg) and Vladislav Samozhonov (+90 kg).
The Kazakh women's U19 team won six awards – three gold and three bronze. Gold medals were claimed by Kamila Ospanova (70 kg), Aidana Ubaidullakyzy (80 kg) and Zarina Tolybay (+80 kg).