This is the first Olympic medal for Polish women’s boxing and the first in this discipline for our country since 1992. 32 years ago, at the Barcelona Olympic Games, Wojciech Bartnik won bronze.
The third round decided that Szeremeta won
In the semi-finals, Szeremeta faced a very difficult task. The Polish boxer, who is under 21, fought against Nesthy Petecio. The 32-year-old Filipino boxer is an experienced opponent. His athletic resume includes, among others: silver medals at the Tokyo Games and gold at the 2019 World Championships.
Szeremeta lost the first round unanimously. In the second, it was a draw. The third match decided the fate of advancing to the final.
Both boxers exchanged blows. Szeremeta ended up being better at it. The Pole won by unanimous decision of the judges and will therefore fight for the gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games.
The Taiwanese is Szeremeta’s last opponent
In Saturday’s final, Szeremeta’s rival will be Yu Ting Lin. The Taiwanese boxer unanimously defeated Turkish boxer Esra Yildiz in the semi-final.
This is Polish boxing’s first Olympic final since 1980, when Paweł Skrzecz won silver in Moscow in the light heavyweight category.
Szeremeta won unanimously in the quarterfinals
Szeremeta defeated Puerto Rican Ashleyann Lozada Motta unanimously in the quarterfinals. The judges had no doubts who was better. The final score was 5-0 (30:27, 30:27, 30:27, 30:27, 29:28).
In this way, Szeremeta guaranteed at least the bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games (there is no fight for third place).
Wójcik lost to the representative of Panama
Elżbieta Wójcik did not follow in Szeremeta’s footsteps. In the quarterfinals of the up to 75 kg category, she lost on points to the representative of Panama, Atheyna Bylon, by 2:3 (28:29, 28:29, 29:28, 30:27, 28:29).
According to the judges, the Polish was unanimously better in the first round. In the second, four of the five referees marked Bylon as the winner, and in the third, according to three judges, the Panamanian boxer was better.