According to a press release by AIBA, the 2021 AIBA Youth Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships in Kielce, Poland was declared open yesterday by AIBA President Umar Kremlyov in Kielce, Poland.
The grand ceremony unfolded at the Hala Legionow arena in Kielce without audiences and with limited count of guests owing to safety measures. The ceremony was broadcasted on Youtube.
The event was attended by Minister of Sports of Poland Anna Krupka, Polish Boxing Association President Grzegorz Nowaczek, AIBA Secretary General Istvan Kovacs, Mayor of City of Kielce Bogdan Wenta, Marshall of Województwa Świętokrzyskiego Andrzej Bętkowski and President of Suzuki Motor Poland Piotr Dulnik.
‘Today our world is suffering not easy situation, Covid pandemic. A lot of sports competitions worldwide were canceled. Our young boxers were left without any possibility to compete. Today Poland is conducting AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships giving an opportunity to young people to fight,’ Mr. Kremlev said.
‘National Federations sent their boxers to compete at the world stage. I would like that tournament to happen. I am grateful for your support, for that our managers are thinking about athletes so they can participate in the competitions. We should organize the best conditions for our boxers, it is our mission. We are here for that,’ he added.
‘I want to thank the city of Kielce, the Polish Boxing Association President. The easiest solution was to cancel the event. However, nobody refused, and today we are here to open the competition,’ Mr. Kremlev concluded.
President of the Polish Boxing Association Mr. Grzegorz Nowaczek said 414 boxers are attending the 2021 AIBA Youth Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships, which includes 140 women and 274 men from 52 countries.
‘I express my gratitude to Mr. President Kremlev for the great confidence which he gave us to host the AIBA Youth World Championships. Our cooperation was nice and fruitful from the beginning. I would like to thank AIBA who supported the Championship with 2 million zlotych. I hope we will not let you down. I am satisfied that all teams came to Poland without any problems,’ Mr. Nowaczek said.
Mrs. Krupka said that the Ministry of Sport also supported the tournament with finances.
‘The sport is continuing despite the pandemic. I wish all the participants good luck and success. I hope our athletes will be safe and sound,’ she claimed.
AIBA Secretary General Mr. Istvan Kovacs said he feels “at home” in Poland.
‘My own boxing career started in Poland in 1988. That was 33 years ago when I won the Junior European Championships in Gdansk, the first milestone in my career. As you know, I won everything possible in amateur boxing. After my whole pro career, in 2002 I had my last fight also in Poland. Now I came back to serve boxing as AIBA Secretary General. I am grateful to the LOC and Polish Boxing Association, they did a great job during these challenging times. I am sure we will see a new generation of stars in Kielce. I wish everyone a lot of success and I hope everybody will enjoy the competitions,’ Mr. Kovacs claimed.
