Boxing, Testa is silver, with a golden heart! Golf and Tognetti (pentathlon) salute with a bronze

NANJING 2014

Nanjing 2014 - Pugilato - Irma Testa 02Tenth day of competitions at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing. The azzurra Irma Testa, 16 years old from Torre Annunziata, has won the YOG silver in the boxing flyweight category (51 kg), having been defeated only in the final by Chinese Yuan Chang 3-0. After having overcome, with the same score, Turkish Neriman Istik in the semifinal, the boxing champion from the Vesuvius region, world champion in 2013, was looking for gold for her definitive consecration. "I am disappointed because I do not think I deserved this defeat. We have been both waiting for each other and we haven't seen blows gone to target. At each blow from my rival which did not go to target, however, the home public attending exploded with a roar, so that I was thinking myself I had been hit, let alone the jury. I am not looking for justifications, in any case. I am only saying that I am not going to switch to a superior category, I am remaining in the 51 kg category only and exclusively to have my revenge at the Taipei world championships." The young athlete from Campania region, a student in the 3rd year of accounting high school (Ragioneria), strangely a supporter of Juventus ("it is a family issue") and in particular of Arturo Vidal ("If he is going to change club, I will become a supporter of his new team. But also Insigne is not bad!"), seems to be disappointed but she is proud, with her eyes wet she does not look for alibis. She would have one, however. On the 31st of July, Irma underwent an urgent appendicitis surgery and therefore she missed the whole last part of her preparation. "The first training sessions started here in Nanjing," Emanuele Renzini, technical manager of the Women's Team, has confirmed, "without a training with the sparring partner the mechanisms necessary to face such an important match cannot function. I am sorry about the match because I think Irma is stronger than the Chinese athlete. Her best gift is timing, she can wait for the rival in order to hit her." "That is true, but today I waited for too long," the Italian boxer has added, "We both knew that only one blow would have made the difference. At the end, we can say that Chang has won, but surely I have not lost! How did I started with boxing? To imitate my sister who left classic ballet to move to the ring. And I have also two younger brothers on the same route. I will never become a professional boxer, I want to win the Olympic Games and have access to the Sport Team of the Armed Forces!" During the morning, the second youth Olympic medal for Italian golf has come. The couple Renato Paratore and Elena Virginia Carta, after the playoff match with Denmark for the third and fourth place, has ended the Mixed Team Tournament with the bronze medal, with a total of 274 at -14 from par, behind Sweden and Korea (272, -16). CIO President Thomas Bach himself, visiting the Zhongshan International Golf Club, has congratulated the two young Italians. In the evening, finally, the mixed team relay of modern pentathlon has gifted the Italia Team with the last place. Another bronze, coming form the flag-bearer, Roman athlete Aurora Tognetti, who, at the end of an extraordinary recovery in the combined competition (running and shooting gallery) in couple with Korean Gilung Park, got on the lowest step of the podium with a total of 1183 points, behind Team 13 composed by Portoguese Maria Migueis Teixeira and Ukrainian Anton Kuznetsov, gold with 1204 points and Team 9 made up of Hungarian Anna Toth and Mexican Ricardo Yamil Vera Reyes, silver with a total of 1201 points. Azzurro Gianluca Micozzi, instead, who was competing with Mexican Martha Derrant Ramirez, has ended its competition at the 9th place with 1158 points. The Italian medals at the Youth Olympic Games are 26 now (one more than in Singapore 2010) but with six gold medals Italy has been overcome by the United States and Ukraine and is on 5th position. China and Russia are still leading. Tomorrow the last fireworks with Vincenzo Arecchia in the final of boxing 64 kg category and the couple Bilotta – Ciammarughi in the final of diving mixed team per continent.