MINSK, 1 March (BelTA) – The European boxing qualifier for the Tokyo Games will be held in Budapest, the press service of the National Olympic Committee told BelTA citing the Olympic Boxing Task Force.
Budapest was chosen as the most suitable venue during the pandemic because the city has already hosted the World Swimming League event and the Grand Slam Judo Tournament. The Tokyo Olympic qualifiers in wrestling and women's handball are also scheduled to take place in Budapest.
The European Olympic qualifier kicked off in London in March 2020 but was canceled due to the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, the world boxing qualifier was canceled. The Olympic licenses (53 berths) will go to the athletes who are ranked the highest in the world rankings.
The European tournament will feature 176 boxers in eight men's and five women's categories. None of the Belarusian athletes has yet won the right to compete at the Olympics in Japan.
An election conference was held on 25 February. Aleksandr Botvinnik was elected new head of the Belarusian Boxing Federation.