A bitterly disappointed Grainne Walsh became the third Irish boxer to lose in a tense first two days of Olympic boxing for the Irish team at the North Paris Arena. Walsh lost 4–1 to Anna-Luka Hamori of Hungary after having been unfavourable decisions in earlier bouts against Dean Clancy and Aidan Walsh.
The match was decided when the taller Hamoli pinned Walsh down and disrupted her rhythm, earning her a warning from Kazakhstan referee Yermek Suenish and a point deduction in the second round.
But the result remained the same, with Hamori using his longer reach to tie up his opponent, slow the fight and outmaneuver Walsh in the first round, while Walsh's attacks were sporadic and he grew increasingly frustrated throughout the three rounds. Hamori won the second round 5-0, but Walsh's brave final stanza failed to produce any progress.
“It's hard to put into words,” Walsh said. “At the end of the day, we're just frustrated. I think the team gave me their all, they had a great plan and I tried to execute that plan as best I could.”
“She's been smothering me and hovering over me since the beginning and I don't know why. There's a million things going through my head right now but yeah I'm just super frustrated. I'm obviously super disappointed. I feel like I've never been in the flow at all.”
The Irish boxing team desperately needs to win if they are to do well in the Olympics. They could have narrowly won all three bouts if the decision had been different, but they still need to go into the match in good shape. Three years ago, Ireland lost two of their first three bouts in Tokyo.
“I'm a fighter that relies a lot on going with the flow and using my reflexes, and I felt like I just couldn't do that. Every time I got close she was leaning on me and I was trying to get my hands free,” Walsh said.
“I don't blame her. I'm just frustrated because she did what she had to do to win the match. I have to be honest. Of course, she got a point deducted in the second round, but that didn't really change things, right? I was happy he gave her the penalty.”
On the same day, Tokyo bronze medallist Aidan Walsh lost 0-4 to Frenchman Makam Traore in front of a rapturous crowd at the 5,000-seat North Paris Arena, receiving a warning and a point deduction for holding from South Korean umpire Kim Jeong-in.
Walsh won the first round comfortably on all the judges' cards and was then left confused as to why the second round went 4-1 against him. The points deduction came in the third round, with Traore winning the match 29-27, 29-27, 28-28, 29-27, 29-27.
The fight was cautious, with the referee instructing the fighters to attack more, and the crowd was relatively quiet in the first round, but from the second round onwards, they cheered every time Traore landed a punch, culminating in the third round.
“I was shocked (when I heard the results), but I was happy with how I played. I know I got a warning for holding,” Walsh said. “I know it's been an issue over the last few months, but I've been hitting and holding my whole career. I think it's eased up a little bit over the last few months. Usually it's three or four warnings before you get a proper warning. I don't know.”
The Irish light heavyweight boxer relied on single blows, rarely participated in the brawls, always kept his distance, patiently going for points and then backing away. He had success in the first three minutes, but the referee ordered him to attack more. The second round turned the tide of the fight, with the verdict going 4:1 in favor of the Frenchman.
“I wasn't sure,” said the 27-year-old. “Usually if I win the first round, I felt like if I keep doing what I'm doing, I can win the second round.”
After receiving a warning and a point deduction in the third round, the fight started to drift away, and Walsh continued to fight with a southpaw style of scoring and movement, with the German judge scoring the fight 28-28, while the other four were in favour of Traore.
“I honestly don't feel any pity. I'm just really grateful to be here. I've said all the way here that my goal isn't a medal, it's to enjoy the process. And I've enjoyed my first week in the Olympic Village much more than I did during my last Tokyo Olympic trip.”
“It's really an honor to be here. I did my best, but my best wasn't good enough today.”
