Jude Gallagher He became the sixth Irish boxer to qualify for the Paris Olympics after his dominant performance in the quarter-finals of the world qualifying tournament held in Busto Arsizio, Italy, against Turkmenistan's Skul Owezov. Ta.
The County Tyrone featherweight took his opponent to a standing count of eight in the first and second rounds and won comfortably on points, earning him a place in the semi-finals and, more importantly, a ticket to Paris.
Gallagher will join Kelly Harrington, Michaela Walsh, Aoife O'Rourke, Dean Clancy and Jack Murray in the Irish boxing squad heading to the French capital.
But there was heartbreak Grainne Walsh She missed out on a controversial loss in the welterweight quarterfinals to Poland's Aneta Rygielska this afternoon.
Offaly woman Walsh, who was just one win away from qualifying for Paris, lost in a tough 3-2 decision from the referee, with some spectators baffled by the score.
In the second round, Rygielska received a standing eight count from the referee, but three of the five judges awarded the round to Paul.
Rygielska was also deducted one point for holding, but the Norwegian and Sri Lankan judges awarded Walsh a 29-27 victory, certifying Walsh as the winner, while the Italian, Moroccan and Argentine judges each gave him 28 points. Each was scored. That means, under professional rules, the fight would have been considered a draw.
However, when forced to choose a winner, the three judges sided with Rygielska, sending the Polish athlete to Paris.
The final Olympic qualifiers will be held in Thailand in May, but as there are only six weight classes for women, former world champions Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O'Rourke are also aiming to compete in the 66kg category, so who will compete? I don't know yet. be selected for the tournament.
Waterford light heavyweight (80kg) also had a disappointing result. Kellyn Cassidy After defeating current world champion Nurbek Oralbay (Kazakhstan) by a narrow margin.
Cassidy is the fourth Irish boxer to lose a 3-2 decision in this tournament, but has one last chance to qualify in May.
Despite losing by one point on the scorecards, the opening round was a costly affair, with four of the five judges awarding the award to Oral Bay.
The two judges awarded the victory to Cassidy by one point and the lowest point difference to Kazakhstan's two points, with the Fijian referee voting 30-27 in favor of the winner.
