3 national boxers took to the ring in the evening session of the organization held at Asics Arena in the capital Sofia.
Competing in the women's 48 kilo category, Nurselen Yalgettekin faced Belarusian Iryna Vinahradava in the quarter-finals.
The national athlete, who has medals in juniors in Europe, defeated his opponent 5-0 and reached the semi-finals and secured his first medal in seniors.
The national boxer will face Ukrainian Hanna Okhota in the semi-finals.
Reminding that he is the European champion under the age of 23, Nurselen emphasized that the atmosphere is different in the seniors and said, "Although the opponents are the same, the feeling is very different. We are now guaranteed the medal, but our goal is gold. Our quarter-final match was very good, very comfortable. We are very well prepared here as the national team. We are very ready both physically and mentally. We will show Türkiye's greatness to Europe. I hope it ends well for all of us. Our goal is the championship." he said.
BUSRA IŞILDAR: "WE ALL CAME HERE TO BE CHAMPIONS"
National boxer Büşra Işıldar also faced German Helena Engels in the 75 kilo category.
Büşra, the last world runner-up, defeated her opponent 5-0 and secured her second medal in the European championships.
The national athlete will compete with Sunniva Hofstad from Norway in the semi-finals.
Stating that she is aiming for the gold medal, Büşra Işıldar said, "We all came here to become champions. We have spent a long camp period abroad and at home with our team and coaches. We work for months and years for just 9 minutes. So, I hope God will reward us for our efforts and let us all return to our country as champions here, as champions as a team. Then, we will have already paid the price for all the tiredness and hunger. Please pray for us." he said.
Defining discipline as "the secret of success", Büşra said, "I do not believe that talent exists, I believe that discipline and hard work exist. That's why discipline is everything for me and the secret of success is discipline." He concluded his words by saying.
SAMET GUMUS FACES UKRAINIAN MAKSYM RUDYK IN THE QUARTER FINALS OF 50 KILO
Despite falling behind in the first round, Samet beat his opponent 4-1, advanced to the semi-finals and was guaranteed to receive a medal.
The national athlete, who became the European champion in 2024 in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, will compete with Subhan Mamedov from Azerbaijan in the semi-finals tomorrow to reach the final.
Stating that the fight was tough, Samet said, "My Ukrainian opponent was very good. We had a good match and I won. We are in the semi-finals with my brother (Semih Gümüş). Hopefully, we will get the gold medal and bring it to our country." he said.
Stating that he fell behind 4-1 in the first round, the national athlete said, "I started off hard, I couldn't adapt. But I had a coach who always believed in me. He also gave very good tactics in the corner. I believed, both our club president and our federation president shouted seriously, they motivated me, they pumped me up. I owe it to them to convert me, too." he said.
Reminding that he won the gold medal at 51 kilos in the last European championship, Samet said, "Now I have moved to 50 kilos, a different weight. It was a difficult road, even one kilo was very difficult. But we are in a new European weight class. I hope we will be champions. I hope we will be champions with my brother. It would be great if we can be in the top three as a country." he said.
Mentioning that 7 national athletes and his brother Semih advanced to the next round today, Samet said, "I played the last match. The fact that everyone won kept me on my feet even more. Because after all, we are competing under the same flag. With their motivation, I had to win this match as well. Even though I gave up the first round, I converted it. It was a very good match. I hope we will become champions together, as a whole country." made his assessment.
NATIONAL ATHLETES CLOSED THE DAY WITH 7 OUT OF 7
On the sixth day of the organization, 7 national athletes entered the ring and beat their opponents and made it to the semi-finals.
In women, Hatice Akbaş, Busenaz Sürmeneli, Nurselen Yalgettekin and Büşra Işıldar, and in men, Emrah Yaşar, Semih Gümüş and Samet Gümüş made it to the last 4 and guaranteed the medal.
