BOXING – BAHRAIN’S boxing national team bagged an impressive eight medals, including three gold, at the Braga Open Boxing event, held over the weekend in Portugal.
The international championship featured fighters of various ages and weight classes, representing more than 20 countries from around the world.
Capturing gold medals for the kingdom were Mohamed Attia, Ahmed Attia, and Jayden Price.
The nationals also came away with three silver medals and two bronze medals from the meeting.
The kingdom’s delegation at the event was headed by Bahrain Boxing Federation (BBF) president Rashid Feleyfel. It included BBF technical director and national team head coach Tony Davis, along with coaches Fethi Missaoui and Mohamed Naseem.
Mohamed Attia clinched his gold medal in the men’s junior 75kg category. He defeated Nuno Vieira of Portugal 3-0 in the final to climb to the top of the podium. He had previously beaten Jorge Camacho del Rio of Spain 3-0 in the semi-finals to march through to the title bout.
Ahmed Attia joined him as a champion in Braga, taking his gold medal in the men’s youth 60kg division. He outclassed Troy Montes Matarranz of Spain 3-0 in their gold medal bout. Earlier, he got the better of Goncalo Machado of Portugal with a stunning first-round knockout in the last four.
Price won his gold in the schoolboys 44.5kg category.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s silver-medallists were Hassan Jamsheer, Yousef Khalid, and Salman Mohammed.
Jamsheer finished as the runner-up in the men’s youth 75kg category, where he lost to Abbasgulu Shadlinski from Azerbaijan in their final. He earlier beat Hugo Jose Couto Nawrocki of Spain in the round of four.
Khalid took silver in the men’s youth 71kg division. He suffered defeat against Alexandre Dubois of France in their championship match. Earlier in the semis, he beat Manuel Hermida Campo of Spain 3-0.
Mohammed bagged his silver medal in the schoolboys 38kg group. He lost to Alexy Brule of Portugal 0-3 in their final.
Amongst Bahrain’s bronze-medallists were Fahad Al Abdullah in the men’s senior 60kg division and Mohammed Fakhr in the men’s senior 71kg category. Al Abdullah was defeated by Borja Brao Copero of Spain in the semi-finals, while Fakhr lost to Dilan Carrasco of Spain 0-3 in their final four contest. Fakhr had earlier beaten Aitor Cardelle of Spain in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, General Sports Authority (GSA) deputy chairman and Bahrain Combat Sports Council president Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa congratulated His Majesty King Hamad and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, on the outstanding achievement of the team at the tournament.
Shaikh Salman also congratulated His Majesty’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs and Supreme Council for Youth and Sport (SCYS) chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and SCYS first deputy chairman, GSA chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa on the accomplishment.
Shaikh Salman underscored that the achievement reflects the unwavering support of the King and HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, which has contributed to advancing the sports sector. He highlighted that the results demonstrate the successful efforts led by Shaikh Nasser and Shaikh Khalid in creating an ideal environment that has elevated athletes’ performance, particularly in combat sports.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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