▪️The Egyptian boxer displayed her best ever boxing to make up for Paris Olympics disappointment of returning home without throwing a punch
February 27, 2026
A powerful action-packed display of skill and aggression enabled Egypt’s Olympian Yomna Ayyad to score a shocking points win over fancied Kazakhstan’s Rimma Volossenko in the quarter-finals of the 77th Strandja Memorial International Tournament on Thursday, February 26, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Boxing as if her entire life depended on the outcome of this closely contested bout, Yomna squeezed a 3-2 points win over Volossenko.
Yomna jumped up in joy when she was declared the winner as a bewildered Volossenko appeared at sea not expecting to lose to the aggressive Egyptian boxer.
From the first bell, Yomna carried the fight to Volossenko, jabbing and combining smartly and defensive movement making it difficult for her flat-footed opponent to find the range.
This is Yomna’s most remarkable victory over an experienced opponent who won silver in last year’s Strandja Memorial, losing in the finals to Kosovo’s 2022 Women’s World Championships bronze medallist Sadiku Donjeta whom Yomna meets in the semi-finals.
This is another tough fight for Yomna but having overcome the Kazakh boxer, her morale is sky-high and it will not be a surprise if she beats the Tokyo Olympian and 2022 European bronze medallist Donjeta to move to the finals.
In addition to winning silver in the 2025 Strandja Memorial Championships and losing in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Women’s World Championships, Volassenko is well remembered for being among Kazakhstan’s 2021 crack squad which won eight gold medals in the Asian Women’s Championships.
Yomna’s sweet victory over Volossenko has made up for her disappointment at the 2024 Olympics in Paris where she was disqualified for failing to make the bantamweight division, returning home without throwing a punch. She has now moved up to lightweight and seems to be very comfortable.
She’s the only surviving African boxer following the elimination of 15 of them from the tournament.
Photos courtesy of Bulgaria Boxing Federation
