Aidan Walsh, Daina Moorehouse, Jennifer Lehane and Grainne Walsh have all successfully secured their places in the forthcoming Paris Olympics after triumphing in their most recent bouts at the qualifier held in Bangkok. This adds to the record-breaking Irish representation in Boxing at the Olympics, now totalling 10 fighters.
On Sunday, all four boxers successfully made their mark in their individual quarterfinals to confirm their Olympics entries. Despite a solid effort though, Martin McDonagh, hailing from Galway, fell short in his fight against Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan due to a split decision, which unfortunately ruled out a complete Irish success for their five pugilists in action.
Walsh, a bronze medallist from Tokyo, dusted himself off from his Friday defeat and secured his ticket to Paris through a box-off, outboxing Angel Gabriel Llanos Perez from Puerto Rico in the 71kg category. He will accompany his sibling, Michaela Walsh, as part of the committed Irish Olympics delegation.
Jennifer Lehane proved victorious at the 54kg category, being the first Irish fighter to secure success on Sunday. She clinched a unanimous decision against Hungarian adversary Hanna Lakotar. She expressed great joy following her triumph, attributing it to simple yet effective boxing and the implementation of the playbook.
Grainne Walsh also bagged a unanimous victory, outperforming Ani Hovesepyan from Armenia in the 66kg weight category. She shared her delight and the sense of fulfilment, attributing her victory to destiny and the unyielding support from her family and the Irish nation. She further shared her pride in overcoming past setbacks that made this moment ‘all the sweeter.’
“I’m truly dumbstruck. I’ve envisioned this instance repeatedly and to presently realise it, it’s just stupefying.”
Later, in the night-round, Daina Morehouse outperformed Zlatislava Chukanova from Bulgaria with a 4-1 split decision, securing her position at the light flyweight in Paris.