Grenyelis Garcia defeated New Zealand's Lea Newman 5:0 in Dakar, World Boxing reported on 8 November. Garcia became the first woman from Venezuela to compete and win in Youth Olympic boxing.
Garcia starts with a win in Dakar
World Boxing placed Garcia's bout in the opening women's session at the Dakar Expo Centre in Diamniadio. The federation described her performance as commanding and confirmed the verdict over Newman.
Garcia followed Algeria's Cerine Kessal, who had beaten Australia's Maia Laird in the same session. The opening programme introduced women's contests before the men's divisions joined the day's card. Garcia's win therefore formed part of the first day of boxing at these Games.
Venezuela's pre-Games ambition
Before the tournament, World Boxing introduced Garcia and Yenireé Castillo as Venezuela's first female Youth Olympic boxers. Its profile recorded Garcia's South American Youth Games title and a bronze medal at the world youth championships in Budva.
Venezuelan boxer Garcia had set a larger target before Dakar: “My goal is to win the first Youth Olympic gold medal for Venezuela,” she said in World Boxing's profile. SportsRivo compared that pre-Games profile with the opening-day result: participation was the first milestone, the victory is now confirmed, and the gold-medal goal remains unresolved.
What the opening result means
- Garcia has moved beyond Venezuela's first women's appearance to the country's first confirmed women's Youth Olympic boxing win.
- Garcia remains in the medal contest; World Boxing's earlier profile said Venezuela had never produced a Youth Olympic boxing champion.
Source: World Boxing