Chelsey Heijnen and Donjeta Sadiku are the first boxers in Busto Arsizio who qualified for Paris

Netherlands’ Chelsey Heijnen and Kosovo’s Donjeta Sadiku became the first quota holders at the 1^st World Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event in Busto Arsizio, Italy following their triumphs at the women’s lightweight (60kg) today.

Netherlands and Kosovo were not able to achieve any quotas in boxing at the European Games therefore both nations earned their first spots for the Paris 2024 Olympics in this North Italian town, Busto Arsizio.

Netherlands sent a five-strong team to Busto Arsizio and several of their young hopes are still in the competition. Heijnen is their most experienced female boxers in the national team with a bronze medal from the 2022 Women’s World Boxing Championships.

The Dutch talent tried to overcame her semi-final opponent, Slovakia’s Miroslava Jedinakova in the attacks and she followed her coach, Mr. Andre De Klerk’s instructions from the first seconds in this important battle for the quota.

Jedinakova, the 2022 European U22 Champion, was competitive rival for Heijnen until the last seconds but the Dutch girl looked confident and her fighting style guaranteed a quota for the Netherlands.

Kosovo’s lone female boxer, Donjeta Sadiku qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and she became her nation’s first ever medallist in a World Championships. She gained that bronze medal in the same event as Heijnen, in the 2022 edition of the Women’s World Boxing Championships.

Sadiku had attacking style of boxing against Italy’s former World Champion Alessia Mesiano and she gave everything from the opening seconds. Sadiku believed on herself and due to her strong actions in the third round, she qualified for her second Olympic Games.

There are three quotas available at the women’s lightweight (60kg) in the 1^st World Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event in Italy. The losers of today’s semi-finals, such as Slovakia’s Miroslava Jedinakova and a local veteran, Alessia Mesiano will meet in a specific Box-off to decide the third quota in this weight class.