TRNC v Palestine showdown

A MAJOR boxing event saw the TRNC national team face Palestinian opposition during a showdown watched by a 700-strong audience in Lefkoşa’s Atatürk Stadium on Sunday.

TRNC hopes of victory were dashed, however, as they lost five out of seven bouts, with only Onur Alp Üzel in the 64kg category and Yunis Kurbanov in the 69kg category emerging triumphant.

Winners in the Palestinian national team were Mohammed Safyeh (67kg); Islam Irshald (73kg); Husam Kaloti (80kg); Ahmed Joudeh (87kg); and Mustafa Baraket (90kg).

Speaking to Cyprus Today, TRNC national team head coach Mehmet Paşa said: “It was a fantastic event, even though three main fighters from our team pulled out at the last minute.

“It was unfortunate that due to injury or other commitments Tarkay Ardan, Mehmet Demirel and Paul Gregory all had to be replaced at such short notice. “In retrospect, the fights were of a good standard — our boys got a real taste of this sort of contest and its atmosphere.

“The Palestinian team has to be applauded for its top performance. They came very prepared while we did not have our strongest fighters.

“We will learn from this experience, which is a major step for us. It will help build and develop the team because they now know the sort of standard that is out there.”

The grand finale featured Sugar Hasan, a fighter from London who came to help represent the TRNC but was beaten in six rounds by Palestinian Ahmed Hara.