Contact sports have taken center stage in the penultimate day of the European Games. Boxing signed three medals, although the bitter aftertaste remained that Enmanuel Reyes Pla’s bronze was not accompanied by a ticket for Paris 2024 since in his category (-92 kg) that required fighting for gold in the final. ‘The Daily Prophet’ fell by split decision to Irishman Jack Marley in a highly contested match. He went from more to less during the match, but he managed to control the distance well and connected the best hands in the first part. His rival set a lot of pace and came with precise shots that helped her take the victory and the Olympic ticket.
With the passport already stamped for France, Laura Fuertes (50 kg) and José Quiles (57 kg) faced their semifinal bouts. The Asturian could not with the French Lkhadiri, who presented a dirty and aggressive combat without some actions being penalized as it happened to the Spanish, and another bronze was hung. The great joy came from the 25-year-old from Alicante who shone against the Belgian Vasile Usturoi to reach the final of the European Games on Sunday. The Spaniard prevailed by a resounding unanimous decision in a fight that he controlled from start to finish. He knew how to do damage with his right hand, he controlled the distance and the pace, taking the initiative in the fight to go for the most glittering medal.
But not only boxing was stellar since in kickboxing they also secured two medals. Mohammed Hamdi Hajji (from Navarre born in Morocco 25 years ago) did it in full contact (-86 kg) after beating the Italian Lulaj in the quarterfinals, and Rubén Iglesias (23-year-old Galician) did the same against the Swiss Cipriano in light contact (-63 kg). Both will fight to enter the grand final of their respective weights in the semifinals on Saturday. She could not second them Cristina Morales who lost her key duel in an exciting and even match against the Turkish Arslan in full contact (-52 kg).
In other sports, Carolina Marín continues to advance steadily and is already in the badminton semifinals with her seventh continental gold on the horizon. Less smiles in fencing with two cruel defeats in the quarterfinals. The women’s saber team fell (44-45) to Bulgaria in a controversial gold headdress while the men’s épée team lost to Hungary 32-37. Better news came from whitewater as four representatives entered the C1 semifinals on Sunday: Nuria Vilarrubla (16th), Miquel Travé (17th), Miren Lazkano (24th) and Daniel Pérez (29th). In the canoe finals the women’s team was fourth (less than a second behind bronze) and the men’s team finished ninth. The three shooting finalists were also left without a prize: Fátima Gálvez (6th) and Mar Molné (7th) among the women, and Andrés García (8th) among the men.
The end of the day was fantastic with the qualification for the beach soccer final of the women’s team after beating Poland 3-2 with goals from Sara González, Cristina González and Andrea Alcaide. The men’s team lost to Italy (6-5) after winning almost the entire game and will fight for bronze against Portugal.
