Nikolina Ćaćić, who has already achieved historic achievements at the age of 21, brought the first medal to Croatia women’s boxing and placed as the first Croatian female boxer in history at the Olympic Games.
Ćaćić was the world and European runner-up in the juniors, and she added another big medal to the already impressive collection. After winning the quarterfinal fight in the category up to 52 kg against the three-time European and world champion in the junior categories Marie Moorehouse, Nikolina now awaits an even easier fight on paper. Ćaćić will fight Ukraine’s Sabina Novosad for the finals on Sunday. While she came two steps away from gold, she has ensured a minimal bronze medal.
Unfortunately, the other two Croatian boxers were not equally lucky. Dea Bolanča was stopped, while Pitbull Split member Ana Stojanović also lost in her debut performance at the European Championships in the category up to 63 kg after a great fight against Finland’s Naiima Bulhan. Stojanović, a former taekwondo fighter and kickboxer with a short boxing experience and too few fights at the international level, firmly opposed the excellent Finnish boxer.
Saturday brings an opportunity for Croatian boxers to secure three more medals. The most is expected from the World Championship quarterfinalist, Gabriel Veočić, who will face Lukas Ferneza from Slovakia in the category up to 75 kilograms. Noah Ježek will also fight his quarterfinal match against Mateusz Urban from Poland in the 71 kg category, while 18-year-old Deni Alagić will look for a way to the medal in the 63.5 kg category against Kerem Ozmen from Turkey.
Source: Fight SiteFight Site
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