Olympic bronze medal eases Aidan Walsh’s pain over semi-final withdrawal

The Belfast boxer was unable to contest his fight on Sunday morning having incurred an ankle injury while celebrating his victory over Merven Clair of Mauritius on Friday

Sportsfile photographer Stephen McCarthy’s snapshot of Aidan Walsh celebrating his welterweight victory over Merven Clair of Mauritius, which captured the very moment the Irish fighter landed awkwardly on his feet. He ended up leaving the venue in a wheelchair.

The Ryoguku Kogukican makes for a picture-perfect backdrop. Spiritual home to sumo wrestling, the upper levels of the venue are lined with portraits of some of its most famous practitioners. The doors into the inner sanctum are fashioned in an ancient Japanese style.

It is a superb arena, even when empty.

Yet, of the thousands of photos taken and logged at the venue during its run as stage for boxing at these Olympics, the most illustrative may be one that contains none of that history or context.

Stephen McCarthy’s snapshot of Aidan Walsh celebrating his welterweight victory over Merven Clair of Mauritius, shot from an angle slightly above the ring, captured the very moment the Irish fighter landed awkwardly on his feet.

The Belfast boxer had taken to the air in celebration, the decision by the judges to award him the fight guaranteeing an Olympic bronze medal and prompting a celebration not all that dissimilar to Michael Carruth’s in Barcelona back in 1992.

The adrenaline still pumping, Walsh seemed fine in the mixed zone but ended up leaving the venue in a wheelchair. It was yesterday morning when confirmation arrived that he would not be able to face Britain’s Pat McCormack in the semi-final.

“We tried to give Aidan as much opportunity as we could,” said Bernard Dunne, boxing’s high-performance director and team leader here in Tokyo. “We literally left it to the last minute this morning to make a decision on it.

“Aidan wanted, as much as he possibly could, to get into the ring but, unfortunately, his body would not let him and we’ve got to make those decisions that protect the athlete. He’s performed exceptionally well in this competition.

“He’s joined an elite club of Olympic medallists and that’s something we’re all proud of.”

It was a deflating end to what has been a memorable journey for Walsh, who wasn’t even on the elite programme at the start of this Olympic cycle.

Dunne was not about to criticise a young man for what was a pure moment of joy. “Come here, you can’t. You couldn’t legislate for something like that happening. You know, he is a young man who had just achieved Olympic success. We are assuming that’s the moment it did happen.

“He will get over it. He is an Olympian and he is an Olympian medallist. He is a member of 16 (Irish) boxers who have ever medalled at Olympic Games. That is an incredible achievement. His application since he has been in the programme, his attitude, his ability to listen and perform when asked too has been brilliant. They are things I want to focus on. It has been so positive for him, it really has been. It’s unfortunate how his journey has come to an end in this competition. But that journey continues after this competition. How far he goes will again be dependent on how much he puts into it.”

Walsh’s injury, added to Kurt Walker’s loss yesterday, leaves the Irish boxing team’s hopes resting on Kellie Harrington from here on. The lightweight’s quarter-final against Imane Khelif of Algeria takes place tomorrow morning with another medal on the table for the winner. The Dubliner had a comfortable win against Italy’s Rebecca Nicoli in her one fight to date and a second medal to go along with Walsh’s would represent a fine return to the sort of form the boxers were showing at Games before the debacle that was Rio.

“All seven athletes have been exceptional,” said Dunne, “they have all performed. There are no regrets coming out of this. This group have applied themselves in the right way. They have followed the plan and you can listen to them when they speak themselves.

“It is a good team we have. Technically they are exceptional. They’re a great bunch of people and a pleasure to work with. We just need to appreciate the performances for what they were. We have an Olympic medal. We still have a little bit to go on the journey, with Kellie.

“And it’s been a great tournament. A couple of decisions we lost were the toss of a coin. And I think it’s just shown that Irish boxing is still very strong.”