At least two Germans will take part in the boxing competitions at the Olympic Games in Paris. Nelvie Tiafack won the Olympic ticket in the men’s super heavyweight category (+92 kg), Maxi Klötzer managed to qualify in the women’s light flyweight category (up to 50 kg).
At the European Games in Krakow last summer, the German boxers came away empty-handed. Things were now going better for the German Boxing Association (DBV): “I had identified one or two qualifications as a goal in advance. It is of course very nice that it has now come together so appropriately“, said DBV sports director Michael Müller in the Sportschau interview. “But the entire team showed convincing performances – including fighters who were not yet able to secure qualification and were previously eliminated from the tournament“. Eleven Germans took part in the first world qualifying tournament. Anyone unsuccessful in Italy will have another chance to qualify at a tournament in Bangkok in June.
Tiafack underpins ambitions
One of the winners of the tournament in Italy is Nelvie Tiafack from Bergheim. The 2022 European champion is one of the top athletes internationally in the weight class over 92 kg and he underlined his ambitions. He won three of his four fights by unanimous decision. Only in the final fight against the Serb Dusan Veletic did not all the judges see him ahead. It was still enough for a majority decision (3:1, 1 draw). “The way Nelvie overcame setbacks to achieve his ultimate goal was outstanding“, says Michael Müller. “The belief in one’s own strength was impressive“.
Klötzer with victory against vice world champion
Maxi Klötzer from Chemnitz also impressed at the tournament in Italy. In the final fight she narrowly defeated the current vice world champion from Kazakhstan by majority decision (3:2 judges’ votes) and thus secured qualification in the weight class up to 50 kg. “This result also shows that our athletes have moved closer to the top in the worldsays Müller.
additional Qualifying tournament in June
The German boxers will have their last chance to qualify for the Olympics at another tournament in Thailand, which will take place in June. “We want to expand our delegation for Paris there. Our goal is 2 to 4 additional qualifying places, so that we go to Paris with a larger team than at the last games in Tokyo“says the sports director. At the games in Japan, the DBV came with a team of three athletes and remained without a medal.
In Paris, on the other hand, the association definitely sees opportunities for precious metals: “Due to the reduction in starting places, qualifying for the tournament has become a real challenge. Anyone who can do that automatically has a chance of winning a medal“.