Central Asian rivals Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan took centre stage on a day of 17 finals, competing in eight and seven gold medal matches respectively.
It was a slow start, however, as three-time world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, Kazakh Nazym Kyzaibay, went down by a 4-1 split decision to Minakshi Minakshi of India in the women’s 48kg gold medal bout.
Minakshi used her height with great success on the back foot and released an ear-to-ear grin as her hand was raised, having avenged her World Cup final loss to the same opponent just two months ago in Astana.
Disappointment quickly turned to elation, however, for the sizeable blue and yellow flag-waving section of the crowd in Liverpool, as Sanzhar Tashkenbay used his superior pace and accuracy to deliver the men’s 50kg title by a unanimous decision against Battulga Aldarkhishig of Mongolia.
Next up, the only USA finalist, Yoseline Perez, was all smiles despite going down 4-1 on split decision to two-time world champion Huang Hsiao-Wen in the women’s 54kg final.
After struggling with the Chinese Taipei fighter’s longer range in the opener, Perez adapted superbly and got herself back in the contest by surging forward, before running out of energy against her more experienced opponent in the third.
“I haven’t experienced long fighters before, but as soon as I adjusted my timing and distance, it became really competitive, and it’s great to know I’m not that far off the No. 1 fighter in the world,” Perez told Olympics.com afterwards.
“Considering my level a year ago, I never imagined I’d be at this point right now. I’ve learnt so much. It wasn’t the decision we wanted today, but we have three more years until LA 2028, and I’m excited.”