IBA WWBC: Quarter-finals approaching

There were no major surprises on the third day of competition at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Nis, Serbia, apart from the elimination of local and European champion Kristina Kuluhova, who was beaten by top seed Thailand's Thananya Somnuek.

Kazakhstan's Alua Balkibekova made no mistake in the women's -50kg division on Tuesday, defeating compatriot and world medallist Yasmine Mouttaki of Morocco. The Kazakh boxer, a world silver and bronze medallist, was up against Mouttaki, a three-time African champion and world bronze medallist. Balkibekova proved the better fighter and won by unanimous decision. She will now meet Aysen Taskin of Turkiye, who defeated Vietnam's Thi Ngoc Tran.

Thailand's top seed Chuthamat Raksat won a split decision over Mexico's Fátima Herrera Álvarez and will next face China's Hu Meiyi, who came through a tough fight against Ireland's Daina Moorehouse. The Thai boxer put up a good fight, but her Mexican opponent stayed in the bout until the very end.

Spain's Laura Fuertes, a World bronze medallist, faced a tough challenge from Russia's Rinata Bezel but came through with a 4-1 split decision victory. This is great news for the former as she is now just one step away from fighting for a medal, further highlighting the country's progress in the sport. Spain recently won a men's boxing medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, ending a 20-year drought.

Fuertes' next opponent will be An Kum Byol of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, who defeated sixth seed Anush Grigoryan of Armenia. Fourth seed Sabina Bobokulova of Uzbekistan also progressed after a comfortable win over Colombia's Yerlin Isaura Quinones. She will now meet Bulgaria's Zlatislava Chukanova, who beat Azerbaijan's Marjona Savriyeva by unanimous decision. Uzbekistan continue to show their strong foundation in boxing, consistently producing impressive results.

Serbia's top seed Natalia Shadrina was in exceptional form in the 60kg tournament, recording a dominant victory over Armenia's Elida Kocharayan. She will next meet Sierra Leone's Josefien Betist, who defeated Latvia's Anna Sorokina. Russia's third seed, Nune Asatrian, emerged victorious from a hard-fought encounter with DPR Korea's Won Un Gyong. Her next opponent will be Bulgaria's Svetlana Staneva, who defeated China's Li Qiange. The fight was highly entertaining with both boxers exchanging punches.

Turkiye's second seed Gizem Ozer also progressed after a dominant performance against Tajikistan's Shoira Zulkaynarova. She will meet Slovakia's Miroslava Jedinakova in the quarter-finals after a comfortable win over Kenya's Emily Juma. Fifth seed Viktoriya Grafeyeva of Kazakhstan had no trouble overcoming Greece's Sofia Legaki, while fourth seed Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan secured a points victory over Vietnam's Thi Mai Chuc Ngo.

The Serbian crowd had to endure the disappointment of Kristina Kuluhova's exit. She was replaced by Thananya Somnuek, who will now face Mexico's Miriam Hernández González in the 63kg category. The Mexican impressed by forcing the referee to stop her fight against Kenya's Cynthia Mwai.

Megan de Cler, representing IBA-Netherlands, won her first fight against Odinakhon Ismoilova. Funded by the IBA Financial Support Programme, the Dutch athlete is now just one step away from a world medal. She will meet third seed Elena Babicheva of Russia, who dominated her fight against Romania's Loredana Marin.

The quarter-finals of the 54kg category will see a much-anticipated clash between Kazakhstan's Zhaina Shekerbekova, a three-time world medallist, and local favourite Sara Ćirković, who won her opening bout against Germany's Melani Volkova via a second round stoppage. Morocco's top seed Widad Bertel was the narrow winner against DPR Korea's Paek Jin Hyang.

In another exciting quarter-final showdown, Turkey's Hatice Akbas will take on Russia's Karina Tazabekova. Once again, Akbas retired before the scheduled three rounds, forcing a second-round stoppage against Moldova's Iulia Coroli. Tazabekova, meanwhile, secured a unanimous decision victory over Kenya's Amina Faki.

Albina Moldazhanova produced one of the most impressive performances in the 66kg category on Tuesday. The Russian forced a second-round stoppage against 2023 World bronze medallist Zhou Pan of China. Her reward is a quarter-final clash with Kazakhstan's Zhasmin Kizatova, who defeated third seed Ivanusa "Nancy" Moreira of Cape Verde by unanimous decision. Morocco's Mounia Toutire and Uzbekistan's second seed Navbakhor Khamidova also progressed from this group.

Slovakia's Tamara Kubalova defeated Kenya's Friza Asiko to set up a quarter-final clash with top seed Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkiye. Meanwhile, Romania's Crinuta Sebe will meet Serbia's Anastasija Lukajic after overcoming Puerto Rico's Stephanie Pineiro Aquino.

Five boxers have booked their places in the quarter-finals of the 81kg category, including Russia's Saltanat Medenova, who won her bout against French Polynesia's Veroiti Dolly Nena by a referee's stoppage after just one minute. In another bout, Morocco's Hasnar Larti dominated, defeating Serbia's Elma Hajrovic via stoppage.

China's Wang Xiaomeng won a unanimous decision over Kazakhstan's Gulsaya Yerzhan to set up a clash with Kenya's Elizabeth Andiego. Uzbekistan's Sokhiba Ruzmetova also progressed after a narrow split decision win over Yoana Rodríguez Castillo, the first Cuban boxer to compete at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships. Ruzmetova's next opponent will be Turkiye's Busra Isildar, who won a unanimous decision over Germany's Sarah Scheurich.

Wednesday, the fourth day of competition, will see the final preliminaries in the 50-52kg, 54-57kg, 66-70kg and 70-75kg categories. Thursday, 13 March, will see a large proportion of the quarter-finals, with the always-exciting 75-81kg and +81kg weight classes taking centre stage.