Silver with an incident: Anna Okhota lost in the European Boxing Championship final and left the podium before her opponent was awarded

At the European Amateur Boxing Championship, held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia under the auspices of World Boxing, the Ukrainian national team added its first "silver" of the tournament to its medal tally. In the final bout of the under-48 kg weight category, Ukrainian Anna Okhota, a European and World Championship medallist, lost to Russia's Yulia Chumgalakova. The decisive fight of the continental championship ended with a score of 0:5 in favor of the Russian, which earned Okhota the title of vice-champion.

Score and course of the final

The judges' scorecards recorded Chumgalakova's clear advantage in all five rounds: 27-30, 27-30, 27-30, 27-30 and 28-29. By total points, the Russian scored 149 against 136 for the Ukrainian, which determined the final score of 0:5. Okhota's opponent — an experienced boxer, a two-time European champion and silver medallist of the 2025 World Championship — ultimately secured yet another gold at the continental championship.

Contradictory data

The official version of the event is that Anna Okhota won the silver medal of the European Championship and added to the Ukrainian team's medal tally. However, a number of sources record an incident that changes the picture: according to them, the Ukrainian left the podium of honor without waiting for the awarding of the Russian champion Chumgalakova — including before the Russian anthem. Thus, one interpretation emphasizes the sporting achievement (silver), while the other focuses on the public gesture and the athlete's early departure from the ceremony. Both versions coexist in the information space, and the final assessment of the incident remains a matter of discussion.

Tournament context in Sofia

The competition in Bulgaria runs from 17 to 25 September 2026. Over the nine days of the tournament, athletes compete for medals in 20 weight categories for both men and women. Anna Okhota's achievement became another success for the Ukrainian team at this championship: earlier, bronze medals of the European Championship for the national team were won by Iryna Lutsk and Pavlo Illiusha.

Significance of the result

Okhota's silver confirms the high level of Ukrainian amateur boxing on the continental stage and cements the team's status as one of the contenders for medals in the light weight categories. At the same time, the incident at the award ceremony gives the event additional public attention and moves it beyond the purely sporting plane, inevitably accompanied by various interpretations from observers and the media.