site.btaHead Coach Joel Arate: Men's National Boxing Team Ready for Olympics

It is important to demonstrate the teams' potential to achieve the set objectives, coaches of the national boxing teams Joel Arate and Borislav Georgiev said on Friday. They expressed confidence in their teams’ capabilities following the draw for the Olympic Games boxing tournament in Paris.

"We cannot anticipate an easy draw, as these are the Olympic Games where the world's finest athletes convene. I have faith in the girls' abilities. They've demonstrated their capabilities, they're healthy, driven, and equipped with all they need to succeed," Georgiev said.

"Radoslav [Rosenov], Rami [Kiwan], and Javier [Ibanez Diaz] are familiar with most of their scheduled opponents, having encountered them in sparring or official matches. They know what to expect from each. Primarily, maintaining focus and managing the pressure inherent in the Olympic Games is crucial. Displaying their skill, I'm confident they will impress us," Arate added.

The Olympic tournament road for the No. 1 seed in the women's 54 kg event, Stanimira Petrova, starts from the round of 16 on July 30. One-time world champion and two-time European champion Petrova will face the winner of the match between Huang Hsiao-wen (Chinese Taipei) and Bojana Gojkovic (Montenegro). Huang Hsiao-wen is the acting world champion and an Olympic bronze medallist from Tokyo 2020.

In the women's 57 kg event, Svetlana Kamenova (No. 8 seed) will make her Olympic debut in a match against Ireland's Michaela Walsh, a European vice-champion from Krakow 2019. They will face each other on August 2. If victorious, in the quarterfinals Kamenova will most likely face No. 1 seed Lin Yu Ting (Chinese Taipei), two-time world champion.

In the men’s 63.5 kg competition, six-time European champion Radoslav Rosenov will face Bakhodur Usmonov (Tajikistan) in the round of 16. If Rosenov emerges victorious, in the quarterfinals he will take No. 1 seed Wyatt Sanford (Canada), the winner of the last Pan American Games.

European Games champion Javier Ibanez Diaz is No. 2 seed in the men’s 57 kg event and will automatically advance to the round of 16 where he will confront Aider Abduraimov of Ukraine, who is two-time European Junior champion.

European champion Rami Kiwan will start his 2024 Olympic road in the men’s 71 kg event on July 28 with a match against Damian Durkacz (Poland) in the round of 32. If victorious, Kiwan will face No. 1 seed Shannan Davey (Australia) and then, possibly, 2021 world vice-champion Omari Jones (USA).