In the scandal-infused field of Olympic boxing, recent events have left the sport more tarnished than ever. This follows a surprising verdict against Gráinne Walsh of Ireland during the concluding day of the Road to Paris World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy.
Walsh, aged 28 hailing from Tullamore, was left without a secured position at the Paris Olympics after the judges handed her welterweight (66kg) quarter-final match to Aneta Rygielska of Poland, through a split 3-2 ruling. This came in spite of Walsh evidently having the upper hand in the last two rounds.
Each of the four winners of the quarter-finals is given a confirmed spot in Paris, with no further stages of semi-finals or finals. Although Walsh might have one last shot at the ultimate Olympic qualifier in Thailand this May, this outcome will require some processing.
In the first round, the judges were in favour of Rygielska, the same 28-year-old who had triumphed over Walsh in their past two face-offs. Afterwards, Rygielska was given a standing count during the second round and docked a point for holding, yet three out of five judges still gave the round to the Polish boxer.
Upon completion of the third and last round, once more dominated by Walsh, two judges named Walsh the victor, marking her score at 29-27. However, the remaining three judges declared the match a 28-28 draw. Having the final split decision against her despite attaining a higher score, Walsh subsequently lost to Rygielska, resulting in emotional distress as her opponent secured her place in Paris.
Unfortunately, there’s no assured chance that Walsh will get to attempt her final shot in May, as both former world champions Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O’Rourke are also vying for the same Paris qualification at welterweight.
Later tonight, another two Irish boxers will endeavour to secure their Olympic spots. Tyrone-born featherweight Jude Gallagher will go up against Sukur Owezow of Turkmenistan in his quarter-final match, and soon after, light heavyweight Kelyn Cassidy (57kg) from Waterford will challenge Nurbek Oralbay of Kazakhstan for a spot in the Olympics (8.15pm Irish local time).
Following the European Games held in Krakow the previous June, five Irish pugilists secured their places for the forthcoming event in Paris. The list includes Kellie Harrington, the women’s lightweight (60kg); Michaela Walsh, women’s featherweight (57kg); Aoife O’Rourke, the women’s middleweight (75kg); Dean Clancy, men’s lightweight (63.5kg); and Jack Marley, the men’s heavyweight (92kg).
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