Sofia will become the center of European boxing in September, when the capital will host the European Championship for men and women. The competition will be held from September 15 to 26 at the “Asics Arena“, and among the registered participants are competitors with a total of 15 Olympic medals from Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, BTA reports.
Among the biggest stars of the championship will be Ireland's Kelly Harrington, who is a two-time Olympic champion in the up to 60 kg category. Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli, Olympic gold medalist in the 70 kg category, will also compete in Sofia.
The Bulgarian audience will also have the opportunity to see the Bulgarian national Javier Ibanez (in blue), who won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
There will also be a significant presence among the Olympic silver medalists. The Frenchman Bilal Benama, the Turks Buse Çakıroğlu and Hatice Akbaş, the Spaniard Ayub Gadfa and the Pole Julia Sheremeta are expected in Sofia. Çakıroğlu is a two-time Olympic vice-champion.
Among the bronze medalists are also Frenchman Abudu Jamili-Dini, Turkish Esra Yildiz, Spanish Emmanuel Reyes, Georgian Lasha Guruli and Italian Irma Testa.
The organizers expect the championship to be the largest Olympic boxing event of the year. Nearly 400 boxers from 38 countries will participate in the tournament, and the total number of delegation members will exceed 750 people.
For the Bulgarian team, the championship will also be a serious opportunity to perform in front of a home audience and test themselves against some of the best boxers on the continent.