site.btaBulgaria's Javier Ibanez Diaz Advances to Boxing Semifinals at 2024 Paris Olympics

Bulgaria’s Javier Ibanez Diaz has advanced to the boxing semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which guarantees him at least a bronze medal.

The European champion defeated Japan’s Shudai Harada in the men's 57 kg quarterfinal boxing match 5-0 (29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28) on Saturday evening.

In a bid to secure his place in the final, Javier Ibanez Diaz will face World Championships bronze medallist Munarbek Seiitbek Uulu (Kyrgyzstan), who defeated 2023 Pan American Games gold medallist Jahmal Harvey (US) 3-2 earlier on Saturday.

Ibanez’s medal will be the 20th Olympic boxing title for Bulgaria. The national team had already won five gold, five silver and nine bronze medals, the most recent title having been clinched by Stoyka Krasteva at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The first Bulgarian to win an Olympic medal was boxer Boris Nikolov, who took the bronze at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.