Seven German youth boxers each won gold medals in their respective weight categories, helping their country place first in the team event at the 15th Brandenburg Cup held in Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany. Kazakhstan claimed three first place titles and France took one.
Host country Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, France, Ireland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Turkey, Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Estonia, Israel, Cyprus, Netherlands, Albania and Austria sent a total of 92 boxers to the Brandenburg Youth Cup. Only athletes born in 1992 or 1993 were eligible to compete in the event which took place from the 17th to the 21st of February.
Reigning European youth champion and local star, 18-year-old Tyron Zeuge (75kg) defended his title in the Brandenburg Youth Cup by first defeating strong boxer Farrhad Saad of France in a hectic competition in the semifinal and then winning against his teammate Islam Sulimanov who made it to the final by beating Junior world champion Joe Ward of Ireland.
German Theo Krechlok, 17-year-old junior world champion (51kg), claimed a gold medal in the tournament after beating Kazakh national youth champion Nurlan Abzhanov in a close final match (6:4). Krechlok's compatriots Artur Bril (57kg), Araik Marutyan (64kg) and Denis Radovan (69kg) defended their Brandenburg Youth Cup titles from last year and Donat Avdinaj (91kg) won his first international gold.
European junior and European youth champion Evaldas Petrauskas from Lithuania (60kg) lost to 17-year-old Philip Nsingi of Germany in an incredible bout - the final score was 0:0 - and the local boxer won the bout with accepted scores. Until then, Evaldas Petrauskas had been undefeated since 2007.
Kazakhstan boxer 18-year-old Anvar Muzaparov (48kg) was a silver medalist last year in the Brandenburg Youth Cup, but this time he excelled, winning his weight category in a bout that ended 8:1. Kazakh youth national champions Ruslan Madiyev (54kg) and Arbek Abduganiyev (81kg) also claimed gold medals in the tournament.
European youth championships bronze medalist and Agalarov Youth Memorial Tournament winner, super heavyweight class French boxer Tony Yoka (+91kg) won the heaviest category. His performance, along with those of the other gold medalists, could be an accurate indication of who will be up for medal in the AIBA Youth World Championships in April.
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