Bout of the day
US Women’s Youth National Champion and Ringside Women’s World Champion Ariel Arismendez defeated Ireland’s AIBA Women’s Junior World Boxing Championships gold medalist Ciara Ginty in an excellent bout to secure a place in the Youth Light Welterweight class (64 kg) semi-final.
Arismendez’s tactics were perfectly implemented to halt the usually successful approach of Ginty, and her aggressive style combined well with lethal hooks and uppercuts.
Team of the day
Kosovo sent two talented junior boxers to the AIBA Women's Junior/Youth World Boxing Championships Taipei 2015, and their last remaining boxer Donjeta Sadiku had to box Tajikistan’s Idimokh Kholova for a guaranteed medal at Junior Lightweight (60 kg).
The 16-year-old Sadiku controlled the first round against her tough Central Asian opponent, before improving even further as the fight progressed.
Her victory rewards Kosovo with their first ever medal in an AIBA competition.
Surprises of the day
Kazakhstan’s newly crowned Junior National Champion Zhazira Urakbayeva outpointed the gold medal favourite of the Pinweight class (46 kg), as she eliminated Bulgaria’s EUBC European Women’s Junior Continental Championships silver medallist Emi-Mari Todorova from the competition.
Hungary’s Angela Nagy had impressed many boxing enthusiasts with her earlier efforts in Taipei, but she could not keep the momentum going against India’s Junior National Champion Mandeep Kaur Sandhu.
Nagy tried constantly to launch her attacks, but the counter-punching from her Indian opponent was too much to handle.
Sandhu now advances to the semi-finals where her next opponent will be France’s Johanna Wonyou in the Junior Light Bantamweight class (52 kg)
Ones to watch
Italy’s AIBA Junior World Champion and Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games silver medallist Irma Testa continued her excellent form to defeat Russia’s Anastasia Nesmiyanova, and advanced through to the semi-finals of the Youth Featherweight class (57 kg).
Her teammate Concetta Marchese also delivered a strong performance in Taipei on Day 5 as she eliminated Ukraine’s EUBC European Women’s Youth Continental Champion Valeria Manchak.
Concetta Marchese’s younger sister Giovanna was defeated by Ukraine’s Demyanov Women’s Junior Tournament winner Kateryna Rohova, who will now meet Ireland’s Kelsey Leonard in the last four.
Kazakhstan’s Nadira Maratova won the Nations Women’s Junior Cup in January where she defeated Russia’s Kristina Tkacheva in the gold medal bout, but Tkacheva claimed revenge in their rematch and advanced through at Junior Heavyweight (+80 kg).
Stat/Fact of the day
After five competition days in the AIBA Women's Junior/Youth World Boxing Championships Taipei 2015, 92 guaranteed medallists remain in the competition, and the following 25 nations have secured medals in Taipei:
Russia: 15 medals
Kazakhstan: 12 medals
United States of America: 8 medals
China, India, Turkey, Ukraine: 6 medals
Chinese Taipei, Ireland: 4 medals
Italy, Mongolia, Poland: 3 medals
DPR Korea, Hungary, Thailand: 2 medals
Azerbaijan, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Korea, Kosovo, Sweden, Vietnam: 1 medal
Quotes of the day
“In my opinion I had a good fight today in Taipei. I did not get sloppy or wild, and I stayed compact throughout the whole bout. My winning tactic was to try and stop my opponent as soon as I could, and I think it was successful. My goal is to win the Championships and bring the gold medal home,” said US Junior Lightweight class (60 kg) boxer Guadelupe Gutierrez after her triumph in Taipei.
“Today I did what I should in the ring, I followed the instruction of my coaches, and I was able to use my punches in an effective way, even with my opponent holding me quite often during the bout. I am now focusing on my semi-final, and of course I want to go through to the final,” said Chinese Taipei’s Lin Ya Xuan following her quarter-final win over Hungary’s Veronika Villas at the Junior Lightweight class (60 kg).
Tomorrow's program
Tomorrow will be a rest day in Taipei, followed by the semi-finals for each weight class on Friday.