Ogreman

Wow! What a rollercoaster this campaign has been for us! We have been so bad in earlier games that it’s hard to believe what happened this week with 2 unexpected victories. 
 
As Irish fans who experienced similar heart-wrenching results over the years, we can certainly empathise with our Hungarian counterparts for that lake sucker punch.
 
Still don’t see a way for us to qualify but at least we are still alive! 

Here's a minor update of the quota projections before short track qualifying begins next week. Some new nations have joined the list and there's been some changes in the alpine skiing, figure skating and ski jumping quotas along with some athletes changing nationalities. Also fixed some mistakes.
 
Africa (7 nations)
 
 Benin: 1 (NEW)
(Alpine Skiing - 1)
 Eritrea: 1 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1)
 Guinea-Bissau: 1 (NEW)
(Alpine Skiing - 1)
 Kenya: 1 (-1)
(Alpine Skiing - 2)
 Madagascar: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2)
 Morocco: 1 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1)
 Nigeria: 1 (0)
(Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 South Africa: 3 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 1, Freestyle Skiing - 1)
 
Americas (12 nations)
 
 Argentina: 8 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 3, Cross-Country Skiing - 4, Luge - 1)
 Bolivia: 1 (0)
(Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 Brazil: 16 (+1)
(Alpine Skiing - 4, Biathlon - 1, Bobsleigh - 4, Cross-Country Skiing - 3, Short Track - 1, Skeleton - 1, Snowboarding - 2)
 Canada: 204 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 11, Biathlon - 8, Bobsleigh - 14, Cross-Country Skiing - 12, Curling - 11, Figure Skating - 12, Freestyle Skiing - 32, Ice Hockey - 48, Luge - 6, Short Track - 10, Skeleton - 2, Ski Jumping - 4, Ski Mountaineering - 2, Snowboarding - 19, Speed Skating - 13)
 Chile: 4 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 1, Freestyle Skiing - 1)
 Colombia: 2 (0)
(Cross-Country Skiing - 1, Skeleton - 1)
 Haiti: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 Jamaica: 1 (-1)
(Bobsleigh - 1)
 Mexico: 5 (+1)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 2, Figure Skating - 1)
 Puerto Rico: 1 (0)
(Skeleton - 1)
 Trinidad and Tobago: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2)
 United States: 218 (-5)
(Alpine Skiing - 17, Biathlon - 8, Bobsleigh - 14, Cross-Country Skiing - 16, Curling - 6, Figure Skating - 16, Freestyle Skiing - 32, Ice Hockey - 48, Luge - 11, Nordic Combined - 2, Short Track - 4, Skeleton - 4, Ski Jumping - 6, Snowboarding - 23, Speed Skating - 11)
 
 Uruguay: 1 (NEW)
(Alpine Skiing - 1)
 
Asia (18 nations)
 
 China: 117 (+2)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Biathlon - 3, Bobsleigh - 8, Cross-Country Skiing - 5, Curling - 10, Figure Skating - 6, Freestyle Skiing - 24, Luge - 6, Nordic Combined - 2, Short Track - 10, Skeleton - 5, Ski Jumping - 4, Ski Mountaineering - 2, Snowboarding - 16, Speed Skating - 14)
 Hong Kong: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Short Track - 1)
 India: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 Iran: 4 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 2)
 Japan: 125 (+1)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 7, Curling - 7, Figure Skating - 12, Freestyle Skiing - 20, Ice Hockey - 23, Luge - 1, Nordic Combined - 3, Short Track - 9, Ski Jumping - 8, Snowboarding - 20, Speed Skating - 13)
 Kazakhstan: 42 (-1)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Biathlon - 3, Cross-Country Skiing - 8, Figure Skating - 2, Freestyle Skiing - 12, Nordic Combined - 1, Short Track - 8, Ski Jumping - 2, Speed Skating - 4)
 Kyrgyzstan: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 Lebanon: 1 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1)
 Malaysia: 1 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1)
 Mongolia: 2 (0)
(Cross-Country Skiing - 2)
 Philippines: 2 (-1)
(Alpine Skiing - 1)
 Saudi Arabia: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 Singapore: 1 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1)
 South Korea: 62 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Biathlon - 2, Bobsleigh - 4, Cross-Country Skiing - 3, Curling - 5, Figure Skating - 6, Freestyle Skiing - 6, Luge - 1, Short Track - 10, Skeleton - 1, Snowboarding - 11, Speed Skating - 11)
 Taiwan: 6 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 2, Figure Skating, Skeleton - 1, Speed Skating - 1)
 Thailand: 4 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Bobsleigh - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 United Arab Emirates: 2 (+1)
(Alpine Skiing - 2)
 Uzbekistan: 3 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Figure Skating - 2)
 
Europe (47 nations)
 
 Albania: 4 (+1)
(Alpine Skiing - 4)
 Andorra: 7 (+1)
(Alpine Skiing - 4, Cross-Country Skiing - 3)
 Armenia: 5 (+2)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Figure Skating - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 2)
 Austria: 113 (+4)
(Alpine Skiing - 22, Biathlon - 9, Bobsleigh - 12, Cross-Country Skiing - 8, Figure Skating - 1, Freestyle Skiing - 13, Luge - 11, Nordic Combined - 3, Short Track - 1, Skeleton - 4, Ski Jumping - 8, Ski Mountaineering - 2, Snowboarding - 17, Speed Skating - 2)
 Azerbaijan: 1 (0)
(Figure Skating - 1)
 Belgium: 32 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 4, Biathlon - 8, Bobsleigh - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 1, Figure Skating - 2, Short Track - 5, Skeleton - 1, Ski Mountaineering - 1, Snowboarding - 1, Speed Skating - 7)
 Bosnia and Herzegovina: 5 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 3, Cross-Country Skiing - 1, Luge - 1)
 Bulgaria: 19 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 3, Biathlon - 8, Cross-Country Skiing - 3, Figure Skating - 1, Ski Jumping - 1, Snowboarding - 3)
 Croatia: 14 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 6, Biathlon - 3, Cross-Country Skiing - 3, Short Track - 2)
 Cyprus: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2)
 Czech Republic: 121 (-2)
(Alpine Skiing - 5, Biathlon - 10, Bobsleigh - 10, Cross-Country Skiing - 13, Curling - 5, Figure Skating - 4, Freestyle Skiing - 5, Ice Hockey - 48, Nordic Combined - 2, Short Track - 2, Skeleton - 1, Ski Jumping - 4, Snowboarding - 9, Speed Skating - 4)
 Denmark: 40 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Biathlon - 2, Bobsleigh - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 1, Curling - 5, Ice Hockey - 25, Skeleton - 2, Speed Skating - 2)
 Estonia: 32 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 3, Biathlon - 8, Cross-Country Skiing - 8, Curling - 2, Figure Skating - 2, Freestyle Skiing - 2, Nordic Combined - 2, Skeleton - 1, Ski Jumping - 2, Snowboarding - 1, Speed Skating - 1)
 Finland: 102 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 5, Biathlon - 10, Cross-Country Skiing - 16, Figure Skating - 5, Freestyle Skiing - 8, Ice Hockey - 48, Luge - 1, Nordic Combined - 2, Ski Jumping - 5, Snowboarding - 2)
 France: 152 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 19, Biathlon - 12, Bobsleigh - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 15, Figure Skating - 9, Freestyle Skiing - 18, Ice Hockey - 48, Nordic Combined - 2, Short Track - 3, Skeleton - 1, Ski Jumping - 6, Ski Mountaineering - 4, Snowboarding - 10, Speed Skating - 3)
 Georgia: 8 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Figure Skating - 6)
 Germany: 190 (+2)
(Alpine Skiing - 12, Biathlon - 11, Bobsleigh - 18, Cross-Country Skiing - 14, Curling - 5, Figure Skating - 6, Freestyle Skiing - 11, Ice Hockey - 48, Luge - 12, Nordic Combined - 3, Short Track - 1, Skeleton - 6, Ski Jumping - 8, Ski Mountaineering - 3, Snowboarding - 19, Speed Skating - 13)
 Great Britain: 56 (+1)
(Alpine Skiing - 3, Biathlon - 1, Bobsleigh - 10, Cross-Country Skiing - 4, Curling - 10, Figure Skating - 8, Freestyle Skiing - 7, Short Track - 3, Skeleton - 5, Snowboarding - 5)
 Greece: 5 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 3)
 Hungary: 16 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 4, Figure Skating - 2, Short Track - 5, Snowboarding - 2, Speed Skating - 1)
 Iceland: 4 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 2)
 Ireland: 8 (+2)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 2, Freestyle Skiing - 2, Luge - 1, Short Track - 1)
 Israel: 4 (-1)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Figure Skating - 1, Skeleton - 1)
 Italy: 191 (-1)
(Alpine Skiing - 22, Biathlon - 10, Bobsleigh - 10, Cross-Country Skiing - 13, Curling - 10, Figure Skating - 9, Freestyle Skiing - 10, Ice Hockey - 48, Luge - 10, Nordic Combined - 2, Short Track - 10, Skeleton - 3, Ski Jumping - 7, Ski Mountaineering - 3, Snowboarding - 15, Speed Skating - 10)
 Kosovo: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2)
 Latvia: 68 (-2)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Biathlon - 8, Bobsleigh - 9, Cross-Country Skiing - 6, Figure Skating - 2, Ice Hockey - 25, Luge - 11, Short Track - 2, Skeleton - 3)
 Liechtenstein: 4 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 2)
 Lithuania: 17 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Biathlon - 8, Cross-Country Skiing - 4, Figure Skating - 3)
 Luxembourg: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2)
 Malta: 1 (0)
(Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 Moldova: 4 (0)
(Biathlon - 4)
 Monaco: 5 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Bobsleigh - 4)
 Montenegro: 2 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 Netherlands: 43 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Bobsleigh - 4, Figure Skating - 2, Freestyle Skiing - 1, Nordic Combined - 1, Short Track - 10, Skeleton - 1, Snowboarding - 4, Speed Skating - 18)
 North Macedonia: 3 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 Norway: 90 (-1)
(Alpine Skiing - 18, Biathlon - 11, Cross-Country Skiing - 16, Curling - 11, Freestyle Skiing - 5, Nordic Combined - 3, Ski Jumping - 7, Ski Mountaineering - 3, Snowboarding - 4, Speed Skating - 12)
 Poland: 60 (+1)
(Alpine Skiing - 3, Biathlon - 8, Bobsleigh - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 7, Figure Skating - 4, Luge - 6, Nordic Combined - 2, Short Track - 7, Ski Jumping - 6, Ski Mountaineering - 2, Snowboarding - 4, Speed Skating - 9)
 Portugal: 3 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 1)
 Romania: 34 (+2)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Biathlon - 6, Bobsleigh - 8, Cross-Country Skiing - 3, Figure Skating - 1, Luge - 8, Ski Jumping - 4, Snowboarding - 2)
 Serbia: 4 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 2)
 Slovakia: 53 (+3)
(Alpine Skiing - 4, Biathlon - 6, Bobsleigh - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 3, Figure Skating - 1, Ice Hockey - 25, Luge - 6, Ski Jumping - 2, Ski Mountaineering - 3, Snowboarding - 1)
 Slovenia: 41 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 10, Biathlon - 9, Cross-Country Skiing - 8, Nordic Combined - 2, Ski Jumping - 7, Snowboarding - 5)
 Spain: 19 (+2)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Bobsleigh - 1, Cross-Country Skiing - 3, Figure Skating - 5, Ski Mountaineering - 4, Snowboarding - 4)
 Sweden: 116 (-1)
(Alpine Skiing - 10, Biathlon - 12, Cross-Country Skiing - 16, Curling - 10, Figure Skating - 1, Freestyle Skiing - 15, Ice Hockey - 48, Luge - 2, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding - 1)
 Switzerland: 178 (-2)
(Alpine Skiing - 22, Biathlon - 10, Bobsleigh - 16, Cross-Country Skiing - 13, Curling - 10, Figure Skating - 3, Freestyle Skiing - 21, Ice Hockey - 48, Luge - 1, Nordic Combined - 2, Skeleton - 3, Ski Jumping - 4, Ski Mountaineering - 4, Snowboarding - 18, Speed Skating - 3)
 Türkiye: 7 (0)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Cross-Country Skiing - 2, Short Track - 1, Ski Jumping - 2)
 Ukraine: 44 (-2)
(Alpine Skiing - 2, Biathlon - 10, Cross-Country Skiing - 6, Figure Skating - 1, Freestyle Skiing - 8, Luge - 8, Nordic Combined - 2, Short Track - 2, Skeleton - 1, Ski Jumping - 2, Snowboarding - 2)
 
Oceania (3 nations)
 
 Australia: 57 (+4)
(Alpine Skiing - 3, Biathlon - 1, Bobsleigh - 8, Cross-Country Skiing - 8, Curling - 2, Figure Skating - 4, Freestyle Skiing - 13, Luge - 1, Short Track - 2, Skeleton - 1, Ski Mountaineering - 2, Snowboarding - 12)
 New Zealand: 20 (-1)
(Alpine Skiing - 4, Freestyle Skiing - 10, Snowboarding - 5, Speed Skating - 1)
 Vanuatu: 1 (0)
(Freestyle Skiing - 1)
 
Other (1 nation)
 
 Individual Neutral Athletes: 17 (-6)
(Figure Skating - 3, Short Track - 2, Ski Mountaineering - 1, Speed Skating - 11)

Another international gold for Gillespie!  

you cant be that fun to read! you re raising the bar too high for the others 
 

Hmm peer pressure ay?, I haven't been really attention to the nba since free agency and there are so many confusing teams this year that I don't have fully formed opinions on yet but sure your wish is my command. 
 
I will hate some of these predictions in a few weeks and I have too many teams in the middle so one or two of the teams I picked to win in the mid 30s are not going to be good at all, it is just really hard to know which. It will probably just come down to who has a bad start and owns their own draft pick. Also one or two of the teams in the west that fully expect to be playoff teams are going to have a rough season. I have it as Dallas and Memphis but there are other options. Also I think the age thing might be a problem for golden state/ the clippers but I'm not going to change my picks.
 
  Eastern Conference       Team Projected Wins Comments 1 Cleveland Cavaliers 54-56 Its weird given that the east is worse and the Cavs roster should be better than last year that I don't think they will win as much but its just hard to win 60+ games.  2 New York Knicks 53-55 There are flaws with this team but new coach, better depth (Yabusele) and someone in the east has to be good. 3 Orlando Magic 48-50 Desmond Bane will help but this team will struggle for shooting as long Banchero, Wagner and Suggs are their best players. They should be a top 3 seed but a lot of people thought that last year. 4 Atlanta Hawks 47-49 In theory, this team should be better but its Atlanta so . 5 Milwaukee Bucks 45-47 They are just Giannis and some dudes now but in this conference that should lead to a playoff spot. 6 Philadelphia 76ers 41-43 I know, I'm dumb for having them in the playoffs. 7 Detroit Pistons 40-42 They were intriguing in the playoffs last year but I don't love this roster. 8 Indiana Pacers 39-41 The Haliburton injury still hurts and I'm not even a pacers fan, but this team still has an identity so maybe I'm delusional but I still think they are a just about a playoff team. 9 Chicago Bulls 39-41 I mean I really like Matas Buzelis, The rest of this roster is weird though. 10 Miami Heat 37-39 How many mediocre teams can there be in this conference. 11 Boston Celtics 36-38 The will try hard and I don't love having them outside the play in but this can't work right. Also Tatum is not coming back any time soon. 12 Toronto raptors 35-37 Another confusing team that doesn't seem to know whether it is coming or going. 13 Charlotte Hornets 33-35 They are at the point in a rebuild when you are supposed to start getting better, Whether they will or not is a different question. 14 Washington Wizards 25-27 They have been tanking for so long that they have to end up with some decent players at some point and we might just be nearing that point. 15 Brooklyn Nets 16-18 I like some of this roster and Jordi Fernandez but they have 5 first round rookies and will give up on the season at the earliest oppurtunity.  
  Western Conference     Team Projected Wins Comments 1 OKC Thunder  61-63 Probably won't try as hard as last year but they are still ye know really good. 2 Denver Nuggets 54-56 Apparently I am the only person who thinks MPJ is better than Cam Johnson. I still like Denver but not for the reasons a lot of other people seem to. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves 53-55 Floor is very high, ceiling is probably still the conference finals but that is not a bad place to be. 4 Houston Rockets 49-51 They might be really good but they weirdly lack guards, might not matter in the current NBA. 5 LA Clippers 49-51 They are very old, good but very old. 6 Golden State Warriors 48-50 Even older than the clippers, well at least equally old. 7 San Antonio 47-49 How big a leap do they make. This roster still doesn't quite fit together but still they should break into the playoff picture. 8 LA Lakers 44-46 Bit of a transitional year, hard to know. 9 Portland Trail Blazers 42-44 This I think is my hottest take but I think Portland will be genuinely pretty good this year. 10 Dallas Mavericks 35-37 They do not deserve to be good this year and as good as Cooper Flagg is, he is still a rookie. 11 Memphis Grizzlies 32-34 They are already injured and I just think of all the teams in the west, this is the one to fade. 12 New Orleans Pelicans 29-31 Wtf is this team and they traded their first for no reason so they can't even tank if this doesn't work. 13 Phoenix Suns 27-29 Another confusing team who doesn’t control their own pick. There is a sneaky decent roster here but you have to squint to see it. 14 Sacramento Kings 24-26 This roster is so dumb, I do still like Keegan Murray though. 15 Utah Jazz 17-19 Yep still terrible, this season is all about Ace Bailey.

Hmm peer pressure ay?, I haven't been really attention to the nba since free agency and there are so many confusing teams this year that I don't have fully formed opinions on yet but sure your wish is my command. 
 
I will hate some of these predictions in a few weeks and I have too many teams in the middle so one or two of the teams I picked to win in the mid 30s are not going to be good at all, it is just really hard to know which. It will probably just come down to who has a bad start and owns their own draft pick. Also one or two of the teams in the west that fully expect to be playoff teams are going to have a rough season. I have it as Dallas and Memphis but there are other options. Also I think the age thing might be a problem for golden state/ the clippers but I'm not going to change my picks.
 
  Eastern Conference       Team Projected Wins Comments 1 Cleveland Cavaliers 54-56 Its weird given that the east is worse and the Cavs roster should be better than last year that I don't think they will win as much but its just hard to win 60+ games.  2 New York Knicks 53-55 There are flaws with this team but new coach, better depth (Yabusele) and someone in the east has to be good. 3 Orlando Magic 48-50 Desmond Bane will help but this team will struggle for shooting as long Banchero, Wagner and Suggs are their best players. They should be a top 3 seed but a lot of people thought that last year. 4 Atlanta Hawks 47-49 In theory, this team should be better but its Atlanta so . 5 Milwaukee Bucks 45-47 They are just Giannis and some dudes now but in this conference that should lead to a playoff spot. 6 Philadelphia 76ers 41-43 I know, I'm dumb for having them in the playoffs. 7 Detroit Pistons 40-42 They were intriguing in the playoffs last year but I don't love this roster. 8 Indiana Pacers 39-41 The Haliburton injury still hurts and I'm not even a pacers fan, but this team still has an identity so maybe I'm delusional but I still think they are a just about a playoff team. 9 Chicago Bulls 39-41 I mean I really like Matas Buzelis, The rest of this roster is weird though. 10 Miami Heat 37-39 How many mediocre teams can there be in this conference. 11 Boston Celtics 36-38 The will try hard and I don't love having them outside the play in but this can't work right. Also Tatum is not coming back any time soon. 12 Toronto raptors 35-37 Another confusing team that doesn't seem to know whether it is coming or going. 13 Charlotte Hornets 33-35 They are at the point in a rebuild when you are supposed to start getting better, Whether they will or not is a different question. 14 Washington Wizards 25-27 They have been tanking for so long that they have to end up with some decent players at some point and we might just be nearing that point. 15 Brooklyn Nets 16-18 I like some of this roster and Jordi Fernandez but they have 5 first round rookies and will give up on the season at the earliest oppurtunity.  
  Western Conference     Team Projected Wins Comments 1 OKC Thunder  61-63 Probably won't try as hard as last year but they are still ye know really good. 2 Denver Nuggets 54-56 Apparently I am the only person who thinks MPJ is better than Cam Johnson. I still like Denver but not for the reasons a lot of other people seem to. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves 53-55 Floor is very high, ceiling is probably still the conference finals but that is not a bad place to be. 4 Houston Rockets 49-51 They might be really good but they weirdly lack guards, might not matter in the current NBA. 5 LA Clippers 49-51 They are very old, good but very old. 6 Golden State Warriors 48-50 Even older than the clippers, well at least equally old. 7 San Antonio 47-49 How big a leap do they make. This roster still doesn't quite fit together but still they should break into the playoff picture. 8 LA Lakers 44-46 Bit of a transitional year, hard to know. 9 Portland Trail Blazers 42-44 This I think is my hottest take but I think Portland will be genuinely pretty good this year. 10 Dallas Mavericks 35-37 They do not deserve to be good this year and as good as Cooper Flagg is, he is still a rookie. 11 Memphis Grizzlies 32-34 They are already injured and I just think of all the teams in the west, this is the one to fade. 12 New Orleans Pelicans 29-31 Wtf is this team and they traded their first for no reason so they can't even tank if this doesn't work. 13 Phoenix Suns 27-29 Another confusing team who doesn’t control their own pick. There is a sneaky decent roster here but you have to squint to see it. 14 Sacramento Kings 24-26 This roster is so dumb, I do still like Keegan Murray though. 15 Utah Jazz 17-19 Yep still terrible, this season is all about Ace Bailey.

And Shane Lowry makes it! Halves the game meaning Europe retains the title! 

Feels like this is quite an excellent championships for Totallympics  
 
, ,  for example.

Her PB is 2:10 so it’d need an amazing turnaround from KJT to get ahead of her.
 
A simply amazing year for her after years of injury hell. Euro indoor bronze, world indoor silver, world university gold and now this.
 
Our national broadcaster is showing the championships for the first time in decades so she’s on the way to superstardom (locally!!)

And that's the medal for O'Connor basically sealed  
 
Looked like it from the very beginning, amazing event for her.

There's some additional info on swimswam.
 
World Aquatics Outlines New Olympic Swimming Qualification Systems Ahead of IOC Approval
 

 
The trade off is that any athlete with an A-standard or relay swimmer can swim an unlimited number of individual events regardless of whether or not they have the A-standard in that event as long as there's not more than two athletes from an NOC in that event.

I would like to see another scoring system. This 10:9 is really something useless.
 
2008 system was not ideal but it was more clear and competitive. That were the times when the last round had sense.
The real correction it needed was making knockdowns more valuable.

Medals
 
  Medals Predicted Medals Uzbekistan 11 10 Kazkahstan 10 11 China 5 5 GB/ England 5 3 India 4 7 Brazil 4 5 Turkey 3 6 Cuba 3 4 Ireland 3 3 Australia 3 3 Poland 3 2 Japan 3 2 Chinese Taipei 2 3 Bulgaria 2 2 Spain 2 1 Mongolia 2 1 Azerbaijan 2 0 France 1 1 South Korea 1 1 Ukraine 1 1 Hungary 1 1 Jordan 1 1 Italy 1 1 USA 1 1 Croatia 1 0 Georgia  1 0 Venezuela 1 0 Colombia 1 0 Canada 1 0 Austria 1 0 Philippines 0 2 Finland 0 1 Germany 0 1 New Zealand 0 1  
So all of the quarter finals are now decided. The Brits naturally as hosts have overperformed realtive to expectation although they have only one fight that comes to mind that I would describe as a blatant hometown decison (Will Hewitt  vs Munarbek Seitbek Uulu ). India and Turkey have both had dissapointing championships really regardless of how the medal fights go.
I knew predicting Uzbekistan not to top the medal table would probably not age well although Kazakhstan still have a shot even if they have one fewer medallist.
The judging overall has been pretty poor with some confusing decisions unfortanately from my perspective 3/4 involving Irish boxers but I mean its not any worse than it was last year.
 
In terms of my predictions, I am relatively happy.
 
Prediction medal accuracy Mens Womens Overall 60% 65% 62.5%  
60% is a good target and we are slightly over it so I'm happy enough with myself. W60kg was the only weightclass I got all 4 medallists right but unfortanately a slightly questionable decision in the semi final between Aneta Rygielska  and Yang Chengyu  means I won't have any of the weightclasses 100% right. Not sure I feel great about how many of the golds I will get right but we will see.
 
 
Finally I have been a bit confused by some of the opinions expressed in this thread, uhm so Damar Thomas  did not throw his fight away against la Cruz , He drew la Cruz out of his shell and then la Cruz showed why he his a far superior boxer despite his size disadvantage. This was opinion also expressed by the comentators and all I'll say there is think of the commentators like an extra judge sometimes they are insightful and get things right and other times they spectacularly wrong.
I can't say I am convinced by Damar Thomas, He is solid enough like but I don't think he has that high a ceiling.
 
Then we get to Italy, First of all the Lenzi  Bayikewuzi  fight, A lot of the reason I like to write these predictions and do rankings and stuff is to clear up this kind of confusion. 
Danabieke Bayikewuzi is not a bad boxer, In fact he is quite a good one and if anything is probably a slightly better boxer than Diego Lenzi. I picked Lenzi because I though his power would prevail but it didn't, It wasn't some terrible performance, he just got beaten by an equally good boxer.
 
Finally maybe I have a very different perception fo where Italy belongs in the global boxing pecking order but to me this is just like a solid enough Italian squad. Obviously it is missing a couple of big names in Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine  and Irma Testa  (Angela Carini's  presence makes absolutely no difference to the quality of this squad) but 2 things on Testa and Mouhiidine. 1. Yes they are good boxers, no they are nowhere near as good as the Italians on this site think they are. Maybe they would have medalled here or maybe they wouldn't who knows? 2. You are going to have to replace them at some point. I know they aren't that old but they have both been around for a long time in amateur boxing terms at this point and because both are kind of more awkward to box than anything else at some point people just figure out how to beat you. Put it this way even if they do come back into the picture, I would pretty surprised if either ended up medalling in LA.
 

Medals
 
  Medals Predicted Medals Uzbekistan 11 10 Kazkahstan 10 11 China 5 5 GB/ England 5 3 India 4 7 Brazil 4 5 Turkey 3 6 Cuba 3 4 Ireland 3 3 Australia 3 3 Poland 3 2 Japan 3 2 Chinese Taipei 2 3 Bulgaria 2 2 Spain 2 1 Mongolia 2 1 Azerbaijan 2 0 France 1 1 South Korea 1 1 Ukraine 1 1 Hungary 1 1 Jordan 1 1 Italy 1 1 USA 1 1 Croatia 1 0 Georgia  1 0 Venezuela 1 0 Colombia 1 0 Canada 1 0 Austria 1 0 Philippines 0 2 Finland 0 1 Germany 0 1 New Zealand 0 1  
So all of the quarter finals are now decided. The Brits naturally as hosts have overperformed realtive to expectation although they have only one fight that comes to mind that I would describe as a blatant hometown decison (Will Hewitt  vs Munarbek Seitbek Uulu ). India and Turkey have both had dissapointing championships really regardless of how the medal fights go.
I knew predicting Uzbekistan not to top the medal table would probably not age well although Kazakhstan still have a shot even if they have one fewer medallist.
The judging overall has been pretty poor with some confusing decisions unfortanately from my perspective 3/4 involving Irish boxers but I mean its not any worse than it was last year.
 
In terms of my predictions, I am relatively happy.
 
Prediction medal accuracy Mens Womens Overall 60% 65% 62.5%  
60% is a good target and we are slightly over it so I'm happy enough with myself. W60kg was the only weightclass I got all 4 medallists right but unfortanately a slightly questionable decision in the semi final between Aneta Rygielska  and Yang Chengyu  means I won't have any of the weightclasses 100% right. Not sure I feel great about how many of the golds I will get right but we will see.
 
 
Finally I have been a bit confused by some of the opinions expressed in this thread, uhm so Damar Thomas  did not throw his fight away against la Cruz , He drew la Cruz out of his shell and then la Cruz showed why he his a far superior boxer despite his size disadvantage. This was opinion also expressed by the comentators and all I'll say there is think of the commentators like an extra judge sometimes they are insightful and get things right and other times they spectacularly wrong.
I can't say I am convinced by Damar Thomas, He is solid enough like but I don't think he has that high a ceiling.
 
Then we get to Italy, First of all the Lenzi  Bayikewuzi  fight, A lot of the reason I like to write these predictions and do rankings and stuff is to clear up this kind of confusion. 
Danabieke Bayikewuzi is not a bad boxer, In fact he is quite a good one and if anything is probably a slightly better boxer than Diego Lenzi. I picked Lenzi because I though his power would prevail but it didn't, It wasn't some terrible performance, he just got beaten by an equally good boxer.
 
Finally maybe I have a very different perception fo where Italy belongs in the global boxing pecking order but to me this is just like a solid enough Italian squad. Obviously it is missing a couple of big names in Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine  and Irma Testa  (Angela Carini's  presence makes absolutely no difference to the quality of this squad) but 2 things on Testa and Mouhiidine. 1. Yes they are good boxers, no they are nowhere near as good as the Italians on this site think they are. Maybe they would have medalled here or maybe they wouldn't who knows? 2. You are going to have to replace them at some point. I know they aren't that old but they have both been around for a long time in amateur boxing terms at this point and because both are kind of more awkward to box than anything else at some point people just figure out how to beat you. Put it this way even if they do come back into the picture, I would pretty surprised if either ended up medalling in LA.
 

Robbed is a strong word. I would have to rewatch the 2023 world final to be sure. I do remember thinking that Mouhiidine was unlucky not to beat Gadhzimagomedov  there.
The Olympics last year, Yes it was a very tough draw but there was always going to be a few of those. I mean Loren Alfonso Domnigues  and Julio Cesar la Cruz  also met in the last 16.
The Mouhiidine Mullojonov  in Paris, it was close but no I didn't think it was a robbery. 
So 2023 worlds maybe, Olympics no.

I've went to the championships today, really awesome atmosphere..
Best fans:  
Worst fans:  
Enjoyed every minute, also ended up sitting with whole Dutch national team to the left and Lithuanian national team to the right so that was fun 

Projected medal table
 
 
  Gold Silver Bronze Total Kazkahstan 8 1 2 11 Uzbekistan 4 3 3 10 Turkey 2 2 2 6 Ireland* 2 0 1 3 India 1 2 4 7 Brazil 1 2 2 5 Australia* 1 1 1 3 Chinese Taipei 1 0 2 3 China 0 2 3 5 Cuba 0 1 3 4 Poland 0 1 1 2 Japan 0 1 1 2 Bulgaria 0 1 1 2 Finland 0 1 0 1 France 0 1 0 1 South Korea 0 1 0 1 GB/ England 0 0 3 3 Philippines 0 0 2 2 Spain 0 0 1 1 Mongolia 0 0 1 1 Ukraine 0 0 1 1 Hungary 0 0 1 1 Jordan 0 0 1 1 Germany 0 0 1 1 Italy 0 0 1 1 USA 0 0 1 1 New Zealand 0 0 1 1  
Well this is honestly not quite what I expected. I have Kazakhstan overthrowing the recent Uzbek dominance but surprisingly I have them failing to repeat their success from the women’s IBA worlds earlier this year and instead win 7 of the 10 men’s events which would be a remarkable turnaround given how the Olympics went. Uzbekistan don’t have a bad championships in this projection but they will be disappointed if they don’t top the medal table. Turkey continue to be at or close to the top of the table on the women’s side of things.
 
Interestingly before Serbia earlier this year, 3 straight host nations and topped the medal table at world championships but it is hard to see the Brits managing that level of success. 3 medals though is probably a solid result given their lack of world class boxers.
 
A couple of these predictions are already wrong including controversially Ireland’s Kelyn Cassidy so it does look very much like Ireland will be relying on the O’Rourke sisters to salvage a respectable championships here which is not a position I feel great about.
 
India should be happy enough in this scenario as would China and Chinese Taipei. Cuba would be disappointed if they don’t produce a world champion but honestly I think this is a good outcome given how relatively weak their squad is.
 
In terms of disappointments, I was quite impressed with Japan and Azerbaijan’s respective squads on paper and am surprised I didn’t pick a single Azeri to medal. As such don’t be surprised if they outperform this.
 
Ukraine meanwhile, their period in the doldrums appears to be continuing for now but given their continuing dominant form at youth level, it is matter of time before they become a powerhouse again.
 
My final observation is that given that these are in Europe and almost all of the top European nations are here, it is notable coming off the back of an Olympics dominated by Asian boxers how few Europeans I picked to medal here.

Predictions part 5 (W51kg, W60kg, W80kg, W80+kg)
 
 
W51kg
 
 
Bracket 1
 
Ok so this first bracket very likely throws us a rematch of the last Olympic cycles’ 50kg world champions. Nikhat Zareen (4)  will beat Jennifer Lozano (19)  and either Yuna Nishinaka (7)  or Monique Suraci (16)  while Buse Cakiroglu (1)  is beating Natalia Kuczewska (11)  . Nishinaka is the only boxer here who might cause any trouble.
Anyway then we get Nikhat against Cakiroglu, their one and only previous meeting was at Strandja in 2022 with Nikhat winning a split decision. However Nikhat hasn’t put together a great tournament since the worlds in 2023 and in general I just think Cakiroglu is the better and more versatile boxer so I am backing Cakiroglu.
 
Bracket 2
 
This second bracket is a little underwheliming. The standout name is 52kg Asian champion Feruza Kazakova (5)  who did fail to medal at the IBA worlds earlier this year but to be fair she did lose to eventual champion Pang Chol Mi  . She has to beat Olympian Caroline de Almeida (10) in the last 16. The most likely contender to meet her in a quarter final is former European under 22 champion Lucia Ayari (9)  although she does have to beat Esmeralda Patino (23)  and probably Mungunsaran Balsan (18) . Kazakova isn’t great but I can’t see her not medalling here.
 
Bracket 3
 
So Alua Balkibekova (3)  is the reigning world champion at 50kg but at the same time failed to qualify for the Olympics last year so it will be interesting to see how she goes here as she did have a soft draw at the IBA worlds up until the final itself. Her route to a medal likely goes through the boxer who denied her a spot at the Olympics in Maxi Kloetzer (8)  although Kloetzer does have to beat Venelina Poptoleva (15)  first. While Kloetzer is a solid boxer that fight last year was close and it seems to me like Balkibekova should be able to avenge that loss.
 
Bracket 4
 
This last bracket is the toughest of the lot here. Pihla Kaivo Oja (2)  has come into her own this season and is unbeaten winning most impressively at the world cup in Astana and is rewarded here by being the second seed. Having said that this is not an easy draw. First up she should meet Daina Moorehouse (6)  who herself is due a breakout provided Moorehouse can beat 2023 world medallist Laura Fuertes (14) . Moorehouse loves a good split decision loss though so let’s pick Kaivo Oja.
The other last 16 fight should see Mckenzie Wright (12)  meet Qi Xinyu (13) . Qi is at best the third choice Chinese boxer here but given that the top 2 are the Olympic champion and the world silver medallist she is still probably quite good. I don’t know though, as far as I can tell this is her first international tournament. Kaivo Oja to medal but not convincingly.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Buse Cakiroglu , Silver-  Pihla Kaivo Oja , Bronze-  Feruza Kazakova , Alua Balkibekova  .
 
Kaivo Oja beat Balkibekova in Astana and Cakiroglu won’t be troubled by Kazakova so the semi finals here should be straightforward. Cakiroglu and Kaivo Oja could make an interesting  final and Cakiroglu has lost 3 of her last 4 global finals. I do think she is the safer pick though.
 
 
 
W60kg
 
 
This used to be the strongest women’s weight class by miles, it well isn’t anymore
 
Bracket 1
 
Rebeca Santos (1)  replaces Beatriz Ferreira in the Brazil squad and while her historical results are not great she is tentatively my top ranked boxer here based off how she looked this year. The draw has been kind to her so she should medal. A quarter final against one of Vladislava Kukhta (16) , Sara Beram (17)  or Camilo Camilo (22)  who has moved down from welterweight is all that stands in Santos’ way.
 
Bracket 2
 
The fact that Rebecca Nicoli (14)  won one of the world cups this year is pretty telling of how much weaker this division is this year. She is probably a slight favourite to make a quarter final from the top half of this bracket including technically a European medallist Ana Starovoitova (23) , Sitora Turdibekova (12)  and European under 23 silver medallist Tetiana Dovgal (13) .
Viktoriya Grafeyeva (2)  broke out to win IBA world silver earlier this year but she is eminently beatable and former world medallist Donjeta Sadiku (5) should believe she can beat her. Lucky Kings Wheatley (15)  will meet the winner.
As much as I am not convinced by Grafeyeva, she is still the clear pick to medal here.
 
Bracket 3
 
This bracket is more interesting and one of the most open in the entire tournament. European medallist Gizem Ozer (11)  should beat Ayaka Taguchi (18)  and make it to the quarter final stage but who she would then meet is anybody’s guess.
Sanju Khatri (7)  meets Aneta Rygielska (8)  who is the very rare case of moving down a weightclass and looking worse. Generally in women’s boxing if you can move down a division and gain a height/ reach advantage it should play into your favour (see my 57kg predictions) but Rygielska has moved back to 60kg after 5 or so years at welterweight and looked atrocious. She somehow looks smaller as well. She tends to show up when it matters though so is still a tough opening fight for Astana world cup medallist Sanju.
The other last 32 fight sees Jajaira Gonzalez (9)  meeting the rangy IBA world bronze medallist Miroslava Jedinakova (10) . I would lean towards Jedinakova and Rygielska coming through those fights in spite of my contradictory rankings and from there despite her terrible form I guess I am picking Rygielska to medal as one of her only wins this year did come against Gizem Ozer. I have no confidence in that pick though.
 
Bracket 4
 
2023 63kg world champion Yang Chenyu (3)  is the clear favourite here although she has a tough path to the podium. First up is Namuun Monkhor (19)  followed by the 2022 youth world champion Maud Van der Toorn (6) . Then in a quarter fiinal should be the inconsistent Oh Yeonji (4)  provided she beats Krisandy Rios (21) . Oh completely bottled an Olympic medal last year against Wu Shih Yi  but I don’t think will match her medal winning performance at the 2023 worlds here.
 
Medals-
Gold- Rebeca Santos , Silver-  Yang Chengyu , Bronze-  Viktoriya Grafeyeva ,  Aneta Rygielska .
 
All of these are flawed boxers but someone has to win here. Santos lost the Astana world cup final to Grafeyeva but that was in Kazkahstan and I am hoping she has learnt from that. I am being incredibly brave to pick Rygielska to medal, not a chance am I picking her to win more than that so Yang it is. Tentatively picking Santos in the final but I really don’t know.
 
W80kg
 
I’m going to just pick the medals for the women’s heavyweights just cause there really isn’t much to them. They are normally a great avenue for host nations to inflate their medal totals and while England picked a couple of decent boxers here the draw has not been too kind
 
Gold- Eseta Flint (1) , Silver-  Pooja Rani (2) , Bronze-  Zhong Qimeng (4) ,  Elif Guneri (3) .
 
Eseta Flint was failing to qualify for the Olympics for Tonga last year and now is the favourite for gold here having won in Astana which just shows the difference between 75kg and 80kg. I am rather relieved that 75kg is still the Olympic weight class. There is not much else of note to mention here. Zhong medalling is a complete guess, the only other potentially interesting result would be if young Emilia Koterska (9)  beat Pooja Rani.
 
 
W80+kg
 
Gold- Nupur Sheoran (1) , Silver-  Yilian Zhan (2) , Bronze-  Celine Lee-lo (3) ,  Seyma Duztas (9) .
 
I actually think Nupur is kinda good, my second lowest ranked boxer Seyma Duztas only having to beat a Saudi Arabian to medal is objectively hilarious and I guess a rare New Zealand medal is somewhat notable. Only other thing I have to say about 80kg and 80+kg is that it is honestly refreshing to not be predicting either an Uzbek or a Kazakh on the podium.

Projected medal table
 
 
  Gold Silver Bronze Total Kazkahstan 8 1 2 11 Uzbekistan 4 3 3 10 Turkey 2 2 2 6 Ireland* 2 0 1 3 India 1 2 4 7 Brazil 1 2 2 5 Australia* 1 1 1 3 Chinese Taipei 1 0 2 3 China 0 2 3 5 Cuba 0 1 3 4 Poland 0 1 1 2 Japan 0 1 1 2 Bulgaria 0 1 1 2 Finland 0 1 0 1 France 0 1 0 1 South Korea 0 1 0 1 GB/ England 0 0 3 3 Philippines 0 0 2 2 Spain 0 0 1 1 Mongolia 0 0 1 1 Ukraine 0 0 1 1 Hungary 0 0 1 1 Jordan 0 0 1 1 Germany 0 0 1 1 Italy 0 0 1 1 USA 0 0 1 1 New Zealand 0 0 1 1  
Well this is honestly not quite what I expected. I have Kazakhstan overthrowing the recent Uzbek dominance but surprisingly I have them failing to repeat their success from the women’s IBA worlds earlier this year and instead win 7 of the 10 men’s events which would be a remarkable turnaround given how the Olympics went. Uzbekistan don’t have a bad championships in this projection but they will be disappointed if they don’t top the medal table. Turkey continue to be at or close to the top of the table on the women’s side of things.
 
Interestingly before Serbia earlier this year, 3 straight host nations and topped the medal table at world championships but it is hard to see the Brits managing that level of success. 3 medals though is probably a solid result given their lack of world class boxers.
 
A couple of these predictions are already wrong including controversially Ireland’s Kelyn Cassidy so it does look very much like Ireland will be relying on the O’Rourke sisters to salvage a respectable championships here which is not a position I feel great about.
 
India should be happy enough in this scenario as would China and Chinese Taipei. Cuba would be disappointed if they don’t produce a world champion but honestly I think this is a good outcome given how relatively weak their squad is.
 
In terms of disappointments, I was quite impressed with Japan and Azerbaijan’s respective squads on paper and am surprised I didn’t pick a single Azeri to medal. As such don’t be surprised if they outperform this.
 
Ukraine meanwhile, their period in the doldrums appears to be continuing for now but given their continuing dominant form at youth level, it is matter of time before they become a powerhouse again.
 
My final observation is that given that these are in Europe and almost all of the top European nations are here, it is notable coming off the back of an Olympics dominated by Asian boxers how few Europeans I picked to medal here.

Predictions Part 4 (M50kg, M90+kg)
 
 
I know I know, I am really dragging this out amn't I.
 
M50kg
 
This is one of the more interesting weightclasses. It does feel a bit more like 48kg used to than the old flyweight division but there is a fair bit of talent here
 
Bracket 1
 
So I thought Alejandro Claro (2)  deserved to win his quarter final at the Olympics against Bilal Bennama  and even though he didn’t medal he had a good Olympics which is interesting because I didn’t rate him that highly going in so I’m really not sure whether he will win gold here or miss out on a medal. He fights the feisty Istvan Szaka (14)  in the last 16.
The other side of this bracket sees a couple of interesting fights with European champion Samet Gumus (5)  has a tricky opening fight against Anvar Kodzhiev (9)  before meeting a promising up and comer in Subhan Mamedov (7) . You would to trust Gumus to come through which would set up a quarter final against Claro. Both are good boxers but I think I believe in Claro slightly more.
 
Bracket 2
 
Right so Sanzhar Tashkenbay (1)  is the current world champion at 48kg and as such I guess is sort of the reigning champion here. He meets either European under 23 champion Louis Rooney (13)  or the aggressive Huthaifa Eshish (10)  which was not the draw I was hoping Rooney would get. Rooney and Tashkenbay did meet at Strandja but Tashkenbay dislocated his shoulder halfway through the first round. The other side of the bracket should see the impressive but tiny Jadumani Singh (8)  beat either Salvatore Attrattivo (16)  or Reece Readshaw (18) . I am curious about how well Rooney and Singh perform but its hard to look past Tashkenbay here.
 
 
Bracket 3
 
Shodiyorjon Melikuziev (4)  is the reigning Asian champion including beating Tashkenbay in the final. He is rapidly quick but a bit rugged. He only has Omer Izaz (20)  between him and a quarter final. The other side of this bracket sees 2023 world medallist Sakhil Alekverdovi (11)  meet Scott Richards (19)  before meeting the inexperienced Soushi Makino (3) . I was very impressed by Makino this year but I think I will back the safer pick of Melikuziev to medal.
 
Bracket 4
 
This final bracket is fairly open, Martin Molina (15)  was European champion in 2022 and medalled at the worlds in 2023 but his recent form is pathetic. He meets Ergunyal Sebahtin (12)  first up who has medalled at European level but his success only came at 48kg and he struggled whenever he had to move to 51 so it will be interesting how he goes at this new division. The winner meets Astana world cup silver medallist Jay Bryan Baricuatro (6)  who is quite rangy and picks some good punches.
Aldarkhishig Battulga (17)  is the pick of the other side of this bracket is too inconsistent to medal. Baricuatro to medal.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Sanzhar Tashkenbay , Silver- Shodiyorjon Melikuziev , Bronze-  Alejandro Claro , Jay Bryan Baricuatro .
 
These medal fights are by no means a sure bet. Melikuziev has met Baricuatro 3 times winning twice so that one could go either way. I really amn’t sure whether to pick Tashkenbay or Claro. They should have met in the world final in 2023 but Claro withdrew ahead of his semi-final. Then there is Melikuziev and Tashkenbay which has gone Tashkenbay way more often than not but Melikuziev won the most recent matchup.
Tashkenbay better not let me down now.
 
 
 
M90+kg
 
 
Super heavyweight is always difficult to predict especially now that Bakhodir Jalolov  is gone. I am impressed by the number of entries though, Superheavyweight getting the 6th most entries is certainly surprising but look I’m not complaining.
 
Bracket 1
 
Ok so this one is tricky. I do expect Martin McDonagh (7)  to beat Narendar (12)  which would set a fascinating fight against Diego Lenzi (4) . There is quite a bit of a size difference between the two with McDonagh being a giant and Lenzi being one of the smaller super Heavyweights, He does pack a serious punch though Lenzi. I am kind of quietly confident in McDonagh here but Lenzi has had a good season so he is the slight favourite. The other side of the bracket sees world bronze medallist Danabieke Bayikewuzi (6)  meet Yordan Hernandez (11)  followed by Kelvin Watts (17)  who I have not really been convinced by. Bayikewuzi wasn’t the unluckiest boxer during the Olympic qualifiers with the same cut above his eye costing him at both of the world Olympic qualifiers. That said I think Lenzi is the type of boxer that would beat so with only a limited degree of confidence I will pick Lenzi here.
 
Bracket 2
 
Ok so one of this bracket sees two Olympians in Dmytro Lovchynskyi (9)  and Omar Shiha (18)  with the winner likely facing former European medallist Ahmed Hagag (15) . My assumption would be that Lovchynskyi should come through here. The other side of this bracket should see a cracking fight between the heir to Jalolov Jakhongir Zokirov (3)  and Astana world cup silver medallist Nikita Putilov (5) . Putilov nearly got picked over eventual Olympic medallist Nelvie Tiafack  so he should not be underestimated. All that said I have seen enough from Zokirov to trust him here. Putilov is a big challenge though.
 
Bracket 3
 
Ok some interesting fights here. Obviously the big name is Julio Cesar la Cruz (2)  who seems to be sticking around for another Olympic cycle despite the last one not going great. I don’t think his form was that bad, I mean he clearly has lost a step and isn’t anywhere near the dominant boxer he used to be but I do still think he is  a major threat to the medals at these tournaments. Like I think it was the right decision but his fight against Loren Alfonso  at the Olympics could have gone the other way and if it had like Alfonso made the final who is to say La Cruz wouldn’t have made it equally as far or even won.
All that said I would be worried that he is just too small at super heavyweight. His path is an interesting one here meeting 2021 world medallist Mahammad Abdullayev (8)  before likely facing world youth medallist Amir Esmaeili Vandaei (20) .
The other half of this bracket sees IBA Asian under 22 champion Myrzakir Koshaliev (16)  meet 2022 world youth medallist Damar Thomas (10) . Thomas looks the part of a good boxer but his results don’t really back that up at least not yet. The winner would face Joel da Silva (13) and really any of those 3 could come through there. I think I would pick the home boxer in Thomas but I am currently struggling to not see la Cruz medalling here.
 
Bracket 4
 
Aibek Oralbay (1)  has been pretty dominant this year since moving up to super heavyweight. His path to the medals involves Mucahit Ilyas (22)  and then either Luka Pratljacic (14)  or European under 23 silver medallist Stylianos Roulias (19) . I would narrowly lean towards Pratljacic there but neither are troubling Oralbay.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Aibek Oralbay , Silver- Jakhongir Zokirov , Bronze-  Julio Cesar la Cruz , Diego Lenzi .
 
While I am brave enough to pick la Cruz, I’m not brave enough to expect him to go further. Zokirov beating Lenzi seems a safe bet. That leaves Oralbay and Zokirov who have met twice over the last 12 months with one win apiece. I am not sure Zokirov is quite at his best yet so I think I will pick the more experienced Oralbay.

Predictions part 3 (W57, W65, M75, M85)
 
 
W57kg
 
 
Bracket 1
 
I do think this is one of the trickiest weight classes to predict and this first bracket epitomizes that. Yan Cai  (1)  won bronze at the IBA worlds earlier this year. She has a tricky opening fight here against Satsuki Yoshizawa  (13) . Next up we come to Julia Szeremeta (4) who was a very surprise Olympic silver medallist last year. She has really good size for the weight class but I am still not sure whether to believe in her or not. The other side of this bracket sees 3 time world medallist Karina Ibragimova (6)  meet Elise Glynn (10)  who has beaten some really good boxers and lost to some really bad ones. Ibragimova’s Olympics went badly  and she failed to medal at the IBA worlds earlier this year losing to the aforementioned Yan.
I know I am supposed to be predicting this but honestly don’t have a clue how this one is going to go. Szeremeta, Glynn and Ibragimova are all well unreliable but potentially champions (well maybe not Glynn). I think I am reluctantly going to pick Szeremeta to medal with absolutely no confidence whatsoever.
 
Bracket 2
 
This one isn’t really any easier to predict. So this really comes down to 3 Olympians. First Alyssa Mendoza (12)  meets Valeria Arboleda (11) which could really go either way. The winner would then meet Enkhjargal Mungunsetseg (9)  who has moved up from 54kg but should have the size for it. Jenifer Fernandez (17)  or Gabriella Weerheim (16)  will likely await in a quarter final but are unlikely to medal. Mungunsetseg has medalled at this level before so I would tentatively back her.
 
Bracket 3
 
It is strange that there are two Olympic medallists in this bracket and yet I wouldn’t consider it to be that strong. Anyway one side of this bracket sees Olympic bronze medallist Esra Yildiz (8)  meet either Marie Al Ahmadieh (21)  or Olympian Omailyn Alcala (15) . The other side of this bracket sees 60kg Olympic bronze medallist Wu Shih Yi (2)  have to go through Nikolina Cacic (19)  and Michaela Walsh (14)  who is just past it at this point. I suspect given the height and reach of Wu she will come through and medal here.
 
Bracket 4
 
I think there is a real chance I get all 4 medallists wrong here, Wu is the only one I am vaguely confident in. I like Jucielen Romeu (3) , I think she is a good boxer but she loses concerningly regularly and most notably against Yildiz in an Olympic quarter final last year that on paper she should have won easily. She meets Jaismine (5)  first up who narrowly won this matchup when they met in the Astana world boxing cup final a couple of months ago. Khumorabonu Mamajonova (7)  is the likely quarter final opponent but I would favour Jaismine or Romeu over her. Given the recent form I am somehow picking Jaismine to medal even though I don’t really think she is that good a boxer.
 
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Wu Shi Yi , Silver- Julia Szeremeta , Bronze-  Jaismine , Enkhjargal Mungunsetseg .
 
It is interesting that 3 of the 4 medallist here used to be mediocre to good 60kg boxers. I would be relatively confident in the semi finals that Wu and Szeremeta would win. I am not sure I think Wu would beat Szeremeta but I guess a lot of Szeremeta’s strength comes from her size and Wu being taller kind of negates that.
 
 
W65kg
 
This is probably the strongest field of any of the women’s weight classes.
 
Bracket 1
 
So Olympic silver medallist Yang Liu (4)  obviously starts as favourite here. Grainne Walsh (13)  vs Jessica Triebelova (12) is an intriguing fight and they are both somewhat similar stylistically so not sure who comes through there. Natalia Merinova (15)  would likely face the winner and is the only other boxer worth mentioning here.
 
Bracket 2
 
This second bracket is very stacked. Kang Sukyoung (16)  against Beatriz Soares (17)  is actually a decent fight but is a footnote in this bracket. IBA 63kg world champ Aida Abikiyeva (6)  meets Olympian Luca Hamori (10) in a fascinating last 32 encounter. The opposite side of this bracket sees 2023 60kg world silver medallist Angie Valdes (3)  meet the reigning world champion in Busenaz Surmeneli (2) . Both Valdes and Abikiyeva have a real chance of knocking off Surmeneli here but I am going to go with the easy pick and just back Surmeneli.
 
Bracket 3
 
Navbakhor Khamidova (1)  has had a massive breakout year winning silver at the IBA worlds and then beating Surmeneli to win the World cup in Astana and as such is a big favourite here. First up for her is likely Oshin Derieuw (9) . The standout young name in the British squad is European under champ Sacha Hickey (5)  who is yet to lose in the senior ranks. Her path involves beating Morelle McCane (14)  and Neeraj Phogat (7)  both of which are tough fights. While I do rate Hickey quite highly its hard to pick against Khamidova on her current form.
 
Bracket 4
 
Given all the talent in the previous 3 brackets unsurprisingly the final bracket is a little sparse. Nien Chin Chen (8)  has been a bit inconsistent since winning bronze in Paris. On this occasion only European youth medallist Kinga Krowka (11)  stands between her and a medal. Krowka is a quality young prospect though and an upset here wouldn’t entirely shock me.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Navbakhor Khamidova , Silver-  Busenaz Surmeneli , Bronze- Nien Chin Chen , Yang Liu .
 
So Khamidova lost out in an Olympic quarter final against Chen last year but their contrasting form since would lead me to back Khamidova. Surmeneli and Yang last met in the 2019 world championships final which is surprising given how prominent they have both been amongst the medals in this weightclass since. I think Surmeneli is the superior boxer.
Khamidova seemed to have Surmeneli figured out in Astana so if that is the case then I would have to back her in a final. The actual medals could look very different to this though.
 
 
M75kg
 
 
So during the last Olympic cycle this very much still felt like one of the stronger men’s weights despite not being an Olympic weight and is certainly one of the more iconic weight classes. However it does definitely feel like an in between weight here.
 
 
Bracket 1
 
Not a whole lot to this bracket European champion Rami Kiwan (4)  only has to navigate Sumit Kundu (7)  who he has beaten before. European under 23 medallist Alan Perrie (8)  will likely make a quarter final for Scotland but won’t trouble Kiwan.
 
Bracket 2
 
This second bracket is slightly more interesting with a couple of evenly matched fights between Petar Knezevic (13) and Callum Makin (16)  with the winner facing the awkward Michal Jarlinski (11) .
I’m still not entirely convinced by Callum Peters (5)  but while I am intrigued by Josh Ofori (10)  and Nuradim Rustambek Uulu (15)  is a tricky opponent, there really isn’t much between him and a medal here.
 
Bracket 3
 
Fazliddin Erkinboev (2)  is not quite as intimidating as some of his Uzbek counterparts but is a menacing operator and should navigate fights against probably Sultan Osmanli (9) and Giorgi Natroshvili (12) .
 
Bracket 4
 
2023 71kg world silver medallist Saidjamshid Jafarov (3)  has transferred his allegiance from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan presumably as a consequence of not getting picked. He meets Gavin Rafferty (14)  and Daigo Sunaga (19) on his way to a quarter final. There he should meet Sabirzhan Akkalykov (1)  who has to come through a tough fight against Pavlo Illiusha (6)  who is probably a tier below him.
I spent a while debating with myself on the top 3 of my rankings and very tentatively settled on Akkalikov as the top boxer, Jafarov is very good just a bit unrefined.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Sabirzhan Akkalikov , Silver- Callum Peters , Bronze-  Fazliddin Erkinboev , Rami Kiwan .
 
There is not much between Akkalikov and Erkinboev and that fight really could go either way. The size difference between Kiwan and Peters scares me enough to pick Peters despite not really rating him as a boxer. That same height advantage could also play in his favour in a hypothetical final but I just can’t bring myself to pick Peters for gold.
 
M85kg
 
This weightclass only exists for symmetry purposes essentially and accordingly is the weakest men’s division here.
 
Bracket 1
 
There is an unfortunate amount of talent in this top bracket as I wouldn’t have minded picking 3 of these to medal. Bekzad Nurdauletov (1)  vs Georgii Kushitashvili (2)  is probably the best fight in this division and unfortunately we have got it in the last 16. I would lean towards Nuraduletov  winning, Danylo Zhasan (5)  should be able to beat Ammar Abduljabbar (11)  and Brian Kennedy (16)  but I don’t think is as good as Nurdauletov.
 
Bracket 2
 
I really did not expect to pick European under 23 champion Teagn Stott (7)  (Teagn has the weirdest spelling of a name I have seen in a while like just why?) to medal but his only real competition here is world youth medallist Simeon Boldirev (8)  who physically is not ready for this level and could come undone against Vincenzo Lizzi (13)  or Samet Ersoy (15) . Stott and Boldirev met in Astana with Stott winning obviously.
 
Bracket 3
 
Right this bracket should come down to the two world youth champions Akmaljon Isroilov (3)  last year and Adrian Fresneda (4)  in 2022. Fresneda is the newest boxer to abandon Cuba and choose to represent someone else in this case Spain instead. Isroilov does need to beat either Surat Gurayev (9)  or Lachlan Lawson (10)  and Fresneda has a potentially tricky fight against Patricio Polonia (14) . Its hard to know who wins between Isroilov and Fresneda. Neither have been unflappable in the senior ranks. Trust the Uzbek I suppose.
 
Bracket 4
 
The is the lowest quality bracket of all at these championships. Jugnoo Ahlawat (6)  has 10 recorded international fights, he has won just 3 of them and yet he is a pretty clear favourite here . Aryan Saed (12)  is an Iranian refugee and somehow is the only other contender here in a rare opportunity for the refugee team to potentially medal.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Bekzad Nurdauletov , Silver- Akmaljon Isroilov , Bronze- Teagn Stott , Jugnoo Ahlawat .
 
These semi finals will not be close. Nurdauletov stopped Isroilov earlier this year at Strandja so I wouldn’t expect a close final either.

M80kg
 
Given that 3 of the 4 Olympic medallists are not here, this is a reasonably strong field.
 
Bracket 1
 
This top bracket is stacked. The last 16 should see a rematch between Asian games  champion Tuohetaerbieke Tanglatihan (3)  and Olympic silver medallist Nurbek Oralbay (1) . They have met 3 times previously including the 2023 world championships final which went the way of Oralbay only for Tanglatihan to get the nod at Asian games a few months later. Javokhir Ummataliev (2)  who has been one of the more impressive boxers this year would then await in a quarter final. Unfortunately that means my top 3 ranked boxers are all in the same bracket but it does set up a couple of cracking fights. Oralbay should be the favourite to come through.
 
Bracket 2
 
Of all the Irish squad I think Kelyn Cassidy (6)  has the most pressure on him having lost razor thin decisions against both eventual Olympic finalists (Oralbay and Khyzniak ) at the first two Olympic qualifiers, he failed to qualify from the final one and has had his eyes set on revenge here since. His only two fights since were narrow domestic wins against the improving but limited James Whelan  so it is hard to gauge Cassidy’s form coming in. He will likely meet European champion Gabrijel Veocic (4)  in the last 32. Veocic is probably the safe pick to medal from this bracket but I like that matchup for Cassidy (I think when counterpunchers meet pick the more extreme counterpuncher of the two). (Me proofreading myself: What that isn’t a thing, what am I talking about, I am still picking Cassidy though.)
I think it is officially time to start introducing Robby Gonzales (12) as a former world champion as he just is not at the level anymore if he ever was. He does have an interesting fight against Jorge Soto (10) . Either way Cassidy or Veocic to make a quarter final and beat one of Go Wakaya (16) , William Cholov (18)  or Taj Kagho (27)  to medal.
 
Bracket 3
 
Sheesh this bracket is rough. Meysam Geshlaghi  (20)  vs Murad Allahverdiyev (11)  is a vaguely interesting last 32 fight that Allahverdiyev should win. He would then meet Pylyp Akilov (7)  who is the only boxer here I rate at all and as such who I expect to medal. Dimeji Shittu (19)  is an interesting young boxer who I would describe as the definition of the word gangly. I just think it is too easy to get inside him and his footwork is shoddy to say the least. He should make a quarter final though and he is strangely enjoyable to watch.
 
Bracket 4
 
Yojerlin Cesar (5)  caused a bit of an upset beating Oralbay to win the Astana world cup and I think the Frenchmen could back that up and go all the way to the final here. His path goes through the huge Lucky Aimufua  (26) , followed by Lakshya Chahar  (17)  or Hussein Iashash (9) . Iashash could be Cesar’s undoing as he did beat him at the final world qualifier last year although I do think Cesar has come on since. Olympian Kaan Aykutsun (13)  has an interesting opening fight on the other side of this bracket against Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu (15) . He should then face the consistently inconsistent Wanderley Pereira (8) . Pereira vs Cesar does make a decent quarter final but Cesar did win when they met in Astana.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Nurbek Oralbay , Silver- Yojerlin Cesar , Bronze-  Kelyn Cassidy , Pylyp Akilov .
I really should be braver here and pick either Cassidy or Cesar to beat Oralbay. Oralbay’s path to gold really is nightmarish (Tanglatihan, Ummataliev, Cassidy, Cesar) and chances are that it adds up and at some point he comes undone but I’m not 100% confident in Cesar or Cassidy medalling so I will back Oralbay for gold.
 
 
M90kg
 
Honestly this has been the division I have been most impressed with this year. There is still plenty of talent from the last Olympic cycle and I am very intrigued by some of the younger names coming through here.
 
Bracket 1
 
The first of those intriguing young names is European under 23 champion Emrah Yasar (2)  who while he did loss the final in Astana, he did impress me a lot along the way. He has a tricky first fight against Nelson Williams (10)  but he should win. He would then meet two time Olympic silver medallist Loren Alfonso Domingues (6)  and while I should logically go with Alfonso’s experience and tricky style, I think I am going to back Yasar.
 
Bracket 2
 
The next of those impressive new names are Malachi Georges  (5)  and Isaias Filho (3) . Filho having to beat Soheb Bouafia (9)  is the only tricky fight between Georges and Filho meeting in the quarter finals. Malachi Georges has had an impressive year including a KO win against world silver medallist Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine , Unfortunately I don’t think he has quite figured out how to win consistently and unfortunately he has already lost twice this year against Filho. I do think Georges is possibly the more talented of the pair and if he can figure out how to get close fights to go his way, he could be the poster boy for this American squad heading towards a home Olympics. For now Filho to medal.
 
 
Bracket 3
 
Ireland had a grand total of one seeded boxer here in Jack Marley (8)  and he gets about as bad a draw as he possibly could have. In the last 32 Asian champion Sagyndyk Togambay (4) meets home boxer Isaac Okoh (13) . I would expect Togambay to win and then face Marley. I think Togambay is the favourite there but to be fair I could see Marley winning. The Turabek Khabibullaev (1) who steps up from light heavyweight into Lazizbek Mullojonv’s  shoes. He just has to navigate a bruising matchup against Vagkan Nanitzanian (11) . Even with all the talent in this weightclass, I think Khabibullaev is one of the safest picks for gold at this tournament so he should have too much for Marley or Togambay.
 
Bracket 4
 
This is a dream draw for Olympic medallist Enmanuel Reyes (7) . Giorgi Tchigladze (12)  and either world youth silver medallist Amirreza Malekkhatabi (14)  or Harsh Choudhary (16)  between him and a medal. Nothing much else to say here.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Turabek Khabibullaev , Silver- Emrah Yasar , Bronze- Enmanuel Reyes , Isaias Filho .
 
As I have said already I think Khabibullaev will win here. I am going to be a little bold though and predict Yasar to beat Filho despite Filho narrowly getting the nod when they met in Astana world cup final a couple of months ago.

Prediction part 2 (W54kg, W70kg, M60kg, M80kg, M90kg)
 
 
W54kg
 
 
Bantamweight was one of the more competitive divisions during the last Olympic cycle which I had kind of put down to it being a new Olympic weight class but it appears to be continuing along the same pattern where the best boxers are not as good as the best boxers at the weight classes above and below it but it is a very deep weight class.
 
 
Bracket 1
 
The Olympic and world silver medallist Hatice Akbas (1)  headlines this first bracket. Akbas is good but beatable. She has fascinating last 16 fight against Astana world cup winner Sakshi Choudhary (2) . The winner of that fight will meet either Olympian Sirine Charaabi (13) or Scarlett Delgado (15) . I know Akbas Sakshi is technically first vs second according to my rankings but I would be fairly confident Akbas wins.
 
Bracket 2
 
This one is interestingly poised. Olympian Jennifer Lehane (9)  fights Wiktoria Rogalinska (12)  first up. Rogalinska won the Brazil world cup earlier this year but technique wise is a bit unorthodox and likes to throw some wild punches from strange angles which is a stark contrast to Lehane who is a much cleaner technician which I would favour. The winner meets Yoseline Perez  (5)  who has beaten and lost to Rogalinska this year. Perez would have a significant reach advantage over Lehane so I would tentatively pick her. On the other side of this bracket I keep going back and forth on whether Nigina Uktamova (7)  is any good or not. Either way she should beat Elina Bazarova (16) . Uktamova would then face European medallist Hanna Lakotar (10)  who honestly could cause an upset. I think I will back Perez to save a questionable American squad and medal but there are a couple of ways this could go.
 
Bracket 3
 
So Hsiao Wen Huang  (6)  is technically the reigning world champion from 2023. Since then though she has a remarkably poor record and has a tough opening fight against Kokofu Shimasuzu (8)  who is inexperienced but has the potential to cause Huang problems. Next up would be Olympian Yesugen Oyuntsetseg (11)  who Huang did beat last year. I do not feel confident but I will pick Huang. One of Ariadna Gil (18) or Stephanie Kernachan (19)  will make a quarter final because ye know reasons.
 
Bracket 4
 
Right so interesting fight between Cao Wanqi (4)  who does not have a ton of experience internationally and European under 23 silver medallist Lauren Mackie (17)  who replaced the injured Charley Sian Taylor Davison  in the British squad. The winner of that will meet Olympic medallist Im Aeji  (3)  who should win although he form this year has not been great. Tatiana Chagas (14)  is also an Olympian but is unlikely to cause many problems in a quarter final.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Hatice Akbas , Silver- Im Aeji  , Bronze- Yoseline Perez , Hsiao Wen Huang .
 
Im beat Hsiao when they met at the first world Olympic qualifier last year and I am not entirely convinced by Perez so that would set up a rematch of Akbas and Im’s Olympic semi final which was tight but I will pick Akbas to come through again and win a second world title.
 
W70kg
 
 
 
Bracket 1
 
One of the more interesting brackets to start off where Olympian Barbara dos Santos  (7) meets the veteran Patricia Mbata (11)  who is tricky first up. The winner then faces Astana world cup silver medallist Lekeisha Pergoliti  (5)  in the last 16. Their relative form would suggest that Pergoliti should win. Lisa O’Rourke (1)  was world champion back in 2022 and won silver at the IBA worlds earlier this year. She will beat Shirleidis Orozco (15)  but she is not most consistent and Pergoliti or dos Santos will be a challenge. I do think she is the safest pick though.
 
Bracket 2
 
2022 World youth silver medallist Aziza Zokirova (9)  moves back down to 70kg having struggled a bit at 75kg. She meets European silver medallist Regina Lakos (14)  which is the most generous possible description of Lakos (She is not good). The veteran Leonie Muller (6) awaits in the quarter finals which I do think stylistically does suit Zokirova. I do think Zokirova might break through and win this medal but I’m going to stick with my rankings and go with the German.
 
Bracket 3
 
Interesting bracket with Brazil world cup winner Barbara Marcinkowska (4)  meeting Olympian Chantelle Reid (8)  while Anastasia Chernokolenko (12)  meets the completely unknown Mengge Zhang (13) . I am tempted to chuck a wild shot in the dark and pick Zhang because I’m not convinced by Marcinkowska or Reid. I do think if in doubt pick the home boxer though so I’m going to pick Reid to come through but obviously I hope I’m wrong.
 
Bracket 4
 
Sanamacha Thokchom  (3)  was world youth champion in 2021 and I would have kind of liked to pick her to medal here but unfortunately she has run into Natalya Bogdanova (2)  who beat her earlier this year. Sema Caliskan (10)  has got to be the worst two time world medallist of all time. She should beat Isabella Winkler though (16) . Bogdanova vs Sanamacha should probably be the second best fight in this division and I do think Sanamacha could win beat Bogdanova but Kazakhstan have just been a machine at women’s boxing worlds of late.
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Lisa O’Rourke , Silver- Natalya Bogdanova , Bronze-  Leonie Muller , Chantelle Reid .
 
Not going to overthink the semifinals. Rematch of the IBA worlds semi final earlier this year between O’Rourke and Natalya Bogdanova. That came down to a bout review going in O’Rourke’s favour and this fight would likely come down to who learned more from that fight.
 
 
M60kg
 
 
I have to say I am a little disappointed with this entry list. Most of the 57kg boxers from the last Olympic cycle moved up to this weight and it was already quite a strong weight to begin with so I was expecting a really interesting entry list and instead it is just mediocre.
 
 
Bracket 1
 
 
Well like Abdumalik Khalokov (1)  is obviously going to win here. He is probably my current Pound for pound number one although that isn’t something I think too often about. He will cruise to a quarter final. The only question here is probably which one of Biibars Zheksen (12) , Adam Hession (13)  or Sachin Siwach (9)  meets him in a quarter final. I think Sachin is narrowly the best of the three it could be any of them. With the way the  world boxing rankings seem to work you score a boatload of points for a quarter final appearance but nothing if you don’t make a quarter final so some of these fights are more important than they might initially seem.
 
Bracket 2
 
Yeah this is not a great bracket Shunsuke Kitamoto (10) was having an impressive year until he walked on to a massive shot from the powerful but one dimensional Lundaa Gantumur (17)  in Astana and they could meet again in a quarter final here. The name that might scupper that is 2023 world medallist Mohammad Abu Jajeh (8)  who is a lot more refined than the typical Jordanian style. He has a tough first fight against Keoma Ali Al Ahmadieh  (14) while Gantumur faces former European champion Artyush Gomtsyan (23)  (again that is a generous description). Kitamoto’s toughest matchup on his path to the quarter finals is likely Lounes Hamraoui (18) . I think the most likely outcome here is  a Kitamoto vs Abu Jajeh quarter final and I think that plays into Kitamoto’s hands.
 
Bracket 3
 
It is very hard to look past Luiz Oliveira (2)  here. The likes of Ramon Ordonez  (27)  and Mahmoud al Chabtoun (32)  is all that stands between him and a quarter final. There he would almost certainly meet Luis Vinent  (11) provided he beats one of the intriguing pair of Johan Aguero (19)  or Pawel Brach (16) . Vinent I suppose could have a breakout performance here but even then I then I think I would still pick Oliveira
 
Bracket 4
 
Possibly the most intriguing bracket but it doesn’t have a ton of competition. Aider Abduraimov (3)  vs Owain Harris Allan (15)  is possibly the pick of the last 64 fights today in this division. Abduraimov would then be on a collision course with either Radoslav Rosenov  (7)  or last year’s world youth medallist Mahammadali Gasimzade  (6)  who I rate quite highly and I do think could beat Rosenov. I do think Abduraimov is the favourite to come through there. That would set up a quarter final against Olympic silver medallist Munarbek Seitbek Uulu  (4) . They met at the final world Olympic qualifier last year with Abduraimov winning before Seitbek Uulu won a box off to qualify. Seitbek Uulu has become one of the most reliable major championships performers but I am going to pick Abduraimov to medal here.
 
 
Medals-
 
Gold- Abdumalik Khalokov , Silver- Luiz Oliveira , Bronze-  Shunsuke Kitamoto , Aider Abduraimov .
 
I can’t see Khalokov being beaten so this just comes down to Oliveira or Abduraimov and Oliveira is just the much safer pick.