Azerbaijani Boxers Did Not Compete Against Armenian Athletes: What Is the Reason?

During the Nikolay Maneger's memorial international boxing tournament held in Kherson, Ukraine, six Azerbaijani athletes did not enter the ring and suffered a technical defeat. In an interview with Sputnik Armenia, Aram Manukyan, the press secretary of the Boxing National Federation, reported that the Azerbaijani boxers did not reach the competition venue at all. The entire Azerbaijani team traveled to the site but did not arrive in Kherson. According to Manukyan's information, the reason for this is cases of coronavirus infection within the Azerbaijani national team.

It should be noted that at the 15th international boxing tournament named after Nikolay Maneger held in Kherson, the Armenian tricolor was prominently displayed thanks to Gurgen Madoyan and Arman Darchinyan. Throughout the tournament, our athletes performed brilliantly and, celebrating a resounding victory in the finals, were declared champions. In the 69 kg weight category, Gurgen Madoyan triumphed over Ukraine’s Yaroslav Shamaфanov, while Darchinyan won a hard-fought victory against our compatriot Liparit Ustyan, who competed under the Ukrainian flag.

In the 52 kg weight category, Koryun Soghomonyan did not leave the ring due to injury during the final match and had to settle for a silver medal. Silver medals were also won by Arthur Ghazaryan in the 57 kg category and Gurgen Hovnanyan in the super heavyweight category. Additionally, five other Armenian athletes received bronze medals.