Gold medalist Busenaz Surmeneli of Türkiye poses for a portrait in front of the media wall while displaying her medal at the 2026 European Boxing Elite Championships at the Asics Arena Sports Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria, on September 25, 2026. (AA Photo)
September 25, 2026 09:52 PM GMT+03:00
Turkish national boxer Busenaz Surmeneli won the women’s 70-kilogram gold medal at the 2026 European Boxing Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, defeating Britain’s Chantelle Reid on the final day of the tournament.
Surmeneli, who has one Olympic title and three world championships, won the final at the Asics Arena to claim her second consecutive European gold medal.
The victory marked the second European championship of Surmeneli’s career and brought her total medal tally at the tournament to four.
She now has two gold and two bronze medals from European championships.
Busenaz Surmeneli (L) of Türkiye in action against Chantelle Reid (R) of United Kingdom during the Elite Women’s 70kg Final at the 2026 European Elite Boxing Championships at Asics Arena Sports Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria, on September 25, 2026. (AA Photo)
Erdogan congratulates Surmeneli after European title
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Surmeneli following her victory.
Erdogan spoke with the European champion by phone through Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Hamza Yerlikaya, who watched the final in Sofia.
“Congratulations, well done. Hopefully, I expect success at the Olympics as well. Congratulations, and send my greetings to your family,” Erdogan told Surmeneli.
Surmeneli thanked Erdogan for his congratulations.
Gold medalist Busenaz Surmeneli of Türkiye (C) stands on the podium during the Elite Women’s 70kg award ceremony at the 2026 European Boxing Elite Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, on September 25, 2026. (AA Photo)
Busra Isildar claims silver in women’s 75 kg
Turkish national boxer Busra Isildar also won a medal on the final day of the championships, taking silver in the women’s 75-kilogram category.
Isildar faced Ireland’s Aoife O’Rourke in the final at the Asics Arena but lost the bout to finish as European runner-up.
Isildar had previously reached two world championship finals and won two silver medals.
Having earlier earned a bronze medal at the European championships, she secured her first European silver medal in Sofia.
September 25, 2026 09:53 PM GMT+03:00