Busenaz Surmeneli and Emrah Yasar have won gold medals for Türkiye at the 2026 European Boxing Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Surmeneli defeated Britain’s Chantelle Reid in the women’s 70kg final at the Asics Arena to retain her European title.

The Olympic champion and three-time world champion secured her second consecutive European gold medal.

Born in Bursa on May 26, 1998, Surmeneli won Olympic gold in the women’s 69kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Games. She also won world titles in 2019, 2022 and 2025.

Yasar makes history

Yasar defeated Spain’s Enmanuel Reyes Pla 5-0 in the men’s 90kg final to win gold on his first appearance in a European Championship final.

The victory earned Yasar Türkiye’s first-ever men’s heavyweight gold medal in the history of the European Championships.

Emrah Yasar began boxing in 2018 in Sanliurfa after first taking up kickboxing.

He won the European U22 title in 2024 and the European U23 title in 2025, while also taking silver at the 2025 World Boxing Cup.

Both Turkish boxers secured their titles on the final day of the competition at Sofia’s Asics Arena.