site.btaBulgarian Boxer Rami Kiwan Wins on Olympic Debut in Paris

Current European boxing champion Rami Kiwan made a successful Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday. The 24-year-old Bulgarian defeated Poland's Damian Durkac by 5-0 judges' votes (29:26, 29:26, 30:25, 30:25, 29:26) in the first round in the under 71kg category at the North Paris Arena.

The duel was watched from the stands by Sports Minister Georgi Glouchkov, Bulgarian Olympic Committee President Stefka Kostadinova and its General Secretary Belcho Goranov.

Kiwan started a bit hesitantly against his aggressive opponent and the referees even gave a slight advantage to the Pole in the first round. Gradually, the Bulgarian found his game and started to control the fight, while Durkac, who kept throwing himself forward, also received penalty points for foul play in the second and third, which finally decided the winner.

Kiwan will face the first seed Shannan Davey of Australia in the semifinals on July 31.

This is the second win for the Bulgarian boxer in Paris after Radoslav Rosenov also won in his Olympic debut on Saturday.