Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Women's Draw
Women’s Flyweight (-51kg)
The move from 12 to 26 boxers in this division shows how much women’s boxing has grown. Do a few boxers look out of place? Sure, but that is the same in all of the male division. No one boxer dominates here which gives the division a fascinating shape.
Cakioglu is the number one seed and arguably favourite. She has received a solid draw. Her path will see her take on either Drabik or Rakhimova. One of Magno, Ongare, Jitpong or Boualam will make it to the quarter finals and are not the most impressive. Watch Ongare - Magno to see two girls going hell for leather. Huang headlines the second quarter. Her opening bout will likely be against Sorrentino whilst Bujold - Radovanovic will be a tough bout on the other side of that quarter. Kom will start her campaign against Hernandez before taking on Valencia. Nakimi and Sousa will potentially clash to make the quarter finals, making this a tough quarter. The toughest quarter is the bottom one. Yuan is seeded and will likely come up against Davison in the second round whilst Nguyen, Krasteva, Souluianova and Fuchs will compete for the other quarter final spot.
The top half is so much easier than the bottom.I think Cakioglu comes through her quarter with relative ease. Her toughest bout will be her first likely against Drabik before taking out the aggressive Jitpong. Bujold will likely make the quarter final to take on Huang. I could see Kom defeating Valencia, who she has a previous win over but taking on Nakimi will likely be too much. Kratseva has wins over Fuchs and Souluianova on her resume. I can see her making the quarter final whilst Davison-Yuan is likely to be a real chess match. Whoever wins, I can see the judges favouring the pressure of Kratseva. I do not think she will beat Nakimi, who will go on to meet Cakioglu in the final. At home, I give the edge to Nakimi.
🥇Tsukimi Nakimi 🇯🇵
🥈Buse Cakioglu 🇹🇷
🥉Chang Yuan 🇨🇳
🥉Stoyka Kratseva 🇧🇬
Women’s Featherweight (-57kg)
Arguably the strongest of the female divisions, it feels like the majority of these boxers cannot be ruled out. We saw shocks in the qualifiers and it could be the same here.
Yu-Ting is the number one seed, but highlighting the strength of the division, her first fight will likely come against world champion Petecio. Whoever gets through that contest will come up against either Petrova or Arias. Walsh is the seed here but it is another horrible path. Her first bout will either be Testa who beat her at the Olympic qualifiers or world silver medalist Vorontsova. Veyre will be expected to make the quarter final. Romeu is the number three seed and will likely come up against Artingstall who could stop Kenosi in the opening round. On the other side of that quarter, Im and Nicholson should be an intriguing opening contest. The fourth is the weakest quarter. Ramla Ali has been drawn in the same quarter as Hlimi who beat her in the qualifiers. Irie, Nechita and Solorzano compete that quarter meaning that it doesn’t have the same level of boxer as the rest.
I do believe that Petecio is perhaps more vulnerable than her world champion status would leave you to believe. Yu-Ting and her classy counters may be perfect to expose that but the pressure of Petecio will make it interest. I expect Yu-Ting to win and then defeat Petrova. Another really rough section, I think it comes down to who wins the opening bout between Testa and Vorontsova. I see the third quarter coming down to Artingstall or Nicholson. Nicholson probably has the counter punching ability to frustrate Artingstall. Irie should be favourite to make it out of that third quarter. I think Hlimi will suit her perfectly and she can defeat Ali in a chess match. I think Testa can defeat Yu-Ting in the semi final to go on to face Nicholson. The final will be a cagey affair where the pressure of Testa gets the victory.
🥇Irma Testa 🇮🇹
🥈Skye Nicholson 🇦🇺
🥉Lin Yu-Ting 🇹🇼
🥉Sena Irie 🇯🇵
Women’s Lightweight (-60kg)
The talent is maybe not as deep here as some of the division but the intrigue at the top is just as fascinating.
Harrington is the number one seed and her run likely starts with Nicoli if she can get past Falcon. The potential quarter final opponent will be either Homrani or Khelif. Kaur headlines the second quarter and will likely come up against Seesondee. The other mini section of the quarter is populated by Dubois, Sadiku and Ellis. Ferreira has a tough looking opening bout, taking on either Shih-Yi or Alexiusson whilst the winner likely has to get through Kodirova in the quarter finals. The headline first round bout comes as Potkonen takes on Hamadouche with the winner taking on Yeon-Ji. Esra Yildiz will likely wait in the quarter finals.
Harrington has an intriguing opening bout with Nicoli but she should have enough to come through. The second section may be the toughest to predict. Dubois-Ellis will be a really classy match up in the second round whilst Seesondee-Kaur is also tough. I think it will be one of the two from the first semi final and will give the edge to Ellis. I think Ferreira should move through her quarter although Shih-Yi will be tough. Potkonen should be too classy for Hamadouche but I think Yeon-Ji can use her movement on the backfoot to upset the Finnish boxer. Harrington and Ferreira should be able to get through setting up the grand finale, where I see Ferreira confirming her form over Harrington.
🥇Beatriz Ferreira 🇧🇷
🥈Kellie Harrington 🇮🇪
🥉Rashida Ellis 🇺🇸
🥉Oh Yeon-Ji 🇰🇷
Women’s Welterweight (-69kg)
This arguably lacks the top end quality of some of the other divisions but still remains a fascinatingly tight division.
Surmeneli is the number one seed and will open against either Koszewska or Yunusova before taking one either Bel Ahbib or Lysenko. The second section is arguably the toughest as Apetz takes on Borgohain with the winner coming up against Carini or Nien-Chin. Two double bronze medalists clashing in their opening bout may be the bout of the round. Jones arguably got the perfect draw for herself, in a section with familiar foes; Cruz, Da Silva and Moronta. Another pair with a good draw are Panguana-Akinyi who box each-other to make the quarter finals. They will likely meet the winner of second round clash between Hong and probably Dalgatova.
Bel Ahbib already has a win over Lysenko and I can see her moving through to the quarter finals but Surmeneli will cruise through that side of the draw. Carini is improving but I cannot see her beating Nien-Chin. Borgohain is probably the one that I’d edge to Apetz and I could see the young improver beating the experienced Nien-Chin. Jones will likely come up against Da Silva in the quarter finals but is the better boxer. Hong - Dalgatova is a big clash in the second round and I think her patient style lends itself to defeating the counter punching of Hong. Dalgatova has a win over Jones but the American keeps improving and I see her making the final. Ultimately though, Surmeneli is the class of this field and I think she takes gold.
🥇Busenaz Surmeneli 🇹🇷
🥈Oshae Jones 🇺🇸
🥉Lovlina Borgohain 🇮🇳
🥉Saadat Dalgatova 🇷🇺
Women’s Middleweight (-75kg)
Price starts as the number one seed. Her opening bout is Myagmarjargal before taking on either Parker or Bylon. Both will rue their draw although Parker is one of the last boxers to defeat Price. Fontijn is the number four seed meaning that she could meet Price in the semi final. First though she has to get through a tough run, coming up against Wojcik and then the winner of Ryabets - Thibeault. Third seed Graham got another draw they all wanted to avoid in Magomedalieva with the winner boxing either Grahame or Pachito. Rani is also coming down from 81 and if she can get past Chaib will face either the seeded Qian or O’Rourke.
I think Price can work her way through her quarter. She will have to overcome familiar foe Parker, but I think she is in the form of her life and can get through. This second quarter is tough, Fontijn should make it to the quarter finals where I see her coming up against Thibeault. Thibeault is also long so she may not be able to make the most of her size. I think Thibeault has enough to win a shock split decision. Graham is another seed who I think can be upset given her draw. She has losses to some of the bigger boxers in the division and Magomedalieva is that. O’Rourke is improving but probably not enough to beat Qian who I can also see edging Rani in an awkward bout. I think Qian can go on to make the final where she finds Price a bit too speedy for her.
🥇Lauren Price 🇬🇧
🥈Li Qian 🇨🇳
🥉Tammara Thibeault 🇨🇦
🥉Zemfira Magomedalieva 🇷🇺
