Youth Championships – quarter-final round-up
February 14, 2020 | by Matt Halfpenny
Sahil Khan got the better of his England compatriot William Hewitt as the England Boxing National Youth Championships 2020 got off to a flying start with some superb quarter-finals entertaining the crowds at the Sports Connexion, Coventry.
The Midlands boxer, from Merridale ABC in Wolverhampton, pulled out all the stops to earn a tight 3-2 spilt at Male Youth Under 52kg against an opponent who reached the quarter-finals of the EUBC European Youth Championships last year.
But Leigh ABC’s Hewitt, who won the Youth Cadet category at Under 49kg in 2019 at Banbury, certainly played his part in what was one of the most eye-catching bouts of the day.
International rivalry was also at play among the female contenders as Newbiggin’s Alex Brown took on Shelby-Marie Lee of Minster.
The Kent boxer’s victory over the same opponent last year propelled her to a first national title, and she went on to claim a European Junior silver medal in Romania.
And so it was that Lee proved the stronger again, winning unanimously against the 2018 European Junior champion in a high-quality Female Youth Under 48kg bout.
Kai Hardiker continued his rise to prominence in the Male Youth Cadet Under 60kg category as he stormed to victory over Jay Bunclark of Ingle’s.
The Moss Side Fire representative had stopped all four of his previous opponents en route to the quarter-finals and he again showed his power by forcing a standing count.
The Sheffield boxer battled gamely on until the end of contest, but could not prevent a unanimous victory going in favour of the Manchester boxer, who now faces Pinewood’s Brian McDonagh in an intriguing bout.
Joining him in the semi-finals is Courtney Cox, a former European Junior gold medallist, who got the better of Mayflower’s Amelia Jarvis.
She secured a 4-1 split victory and looked sharp in setting up a Female Youth Under 51kg clash with experienced fellow international Holly Heffron.
Adam Azim, a silver medallist in last year’s European Youth Championships despite being a year young, warmed up nicely with victory over Halifax’s Rhys Sanasy.
But his plucky opponent did not back down easily and took the fight to the Pinewood man, despite being on the wrong end of unanimous decision at Male Youth Under 64kg.
Don’t forget to follow the action on day two’ semi-finals live on our YouTube Channel and via the hashtag #EBNYC20 on social media.
Pics by Andy Chubb.
