An hour after watching her Tokyo Olympics teammate fall short in her own Gold medal fight, Busenaz Surmeneli was able to provide the history her nation sought at the start of the day.
Surmeneli became the first ever Turkish boxer—male or female—to win an Olympic Gold medal, doing so after outpointing China's Gu Hong in the women's welterweight final. Surmeneli rode a strong round two all the way to the finish line, winning by scores of 29-27 from three judges to overrule a pair of 28-28 cards.
Oshae Jones (USA) and Lovlina Borgohain (India) both take home Bronze at welterweight.
Hong came in with her own history to make, aiming to become the first women's boxer from China to claim a Gold medal. China women's boxing teams have won seven medals since this side of the sport was introduced in 2012 London, though never a Gold medal among the collection.
Through one round of action, Hong gave herself a favorable head start as she jabbed and grabbed her way to a 10-9 lead on four of the five scorecards.
The one judge who awarded the round to Surmeneli proved key in avoiding a draw and having to select a preferred winner in the end.
Surmeneli put together perhaps the finest three minutes of her boxing career in round two. Hong lost a point in the round for excessive holding, before the heavy-handed Surmeneli produced the bout's lone standing eight count.
Knockdowns in the amateurs don't automatically dictate who won the round, much less a 10-8 frame as often is the case in the pros. Still, it was more than enough to give Surmeneli a lead that she would never relinquish.
Hong tried to box her way back into the fight in round three but was unable to take the lead. Surmeneli did enough in the trenches to sway three of the five judges in preserving the win.
Surmeneli's win came two fights after her teammate, number-one flyweight seed Buse Naz Cakiroglu fell short in a three-round decision defeat to Bulgaria's Stoyka Krasteva. Surmeneli and Cakiroglu provide Turkey with the first two medals in women's boxing.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox