Four Irish boxers just one win from Olympic qualification

Irish boxers enjoyed a superb day at the European Games, with Kellie Harrington, Amy Broadhurst, Jenny Lehane and Kelyn Cassidy all now just one victory away from Olympic qualification

Mon, 26 Jun, 2023 - 20:00

Cathal Dennehy

Irish boxers enjoyed a superb day at the European Games in Poland on Monday, with Kellie Harrington, Amy Broadhurst, Jenny Lehane and Kelyn Cassidy all now just one victory away from Olympic qualification.

Harrington looked back to her brilliant best as she outfoxed and ultimately outclassed Armenia's Elida Kocharyan by unanimous decision at the Nowy Targ Arena. The lightweight (60kg) Olympic champion was much the better fighter throughout, claiming a unanimous 5-0 victory.

"It didn't feel so comfortable, to be honest," said Harrington. "I was quite nervous coming in. I had seen that girl back in October at the Europeans in Montenegro and I thought she was special then, and she is special. She's one to watch."

Harrington will be back in action on Wednesday, where she will face Sweden’s Agnes Alexiusson in the quarter-final. A win there will automatically qualify her for the Paris Olympics, with the semi-final due to take place on Friday and a possible final to follow on Saturday.

Harrington was pleased to start her tournament with two bouts that sharpened her skills for what’s ahead. "I don't know how some boxers love to get the bye," she said. "I love to get going from the start, shake off the dust and get better as you go on."

Asked about her next bout, the Dubliner admitted she hadn’t looked past Monday's bout. "I'm just here to enjoy myself as I haven't really been enjoying it for a while, but I got the hunger back at the last couple of camps, feeling the joy, feeling the love. I got a lovely card off my wife coming out here that said: ‘Do this for yourself. The last one was for your country.’ I'm here to express myself."

Broadhurst turned in an utterly dominant display at 66kg, the light welterweight world and European champion involved in a true mismatch with Latvia’s Beatrise Rozentale, winning 5-0 by unanimous decision. “It was more dominant than I was expecting, I thought she’d come out and run at me,” said Broadhurst. “I’m happy with how I performed, I did what the coaches asked me to do. I put my trust in them.” She may be a world champion, but Wednesday’s quarter-final against Britain’s Rosie Joy Eccles will feel like the biggest fight of her career, given what’s on the line.

“I’ve been lying in bed and trying not to get too far ahead of myself,” she said. “It’s nine minutes I’ve waited my whole life for. All I wanted was the Olympics, and I’m this close. I’m going to get in, give it my everything. If I box my best, I’m very confident I can make (it).”

There was another slick Irish display in the women's 54kg category where Jenny Lehane scored a unanimous 5-0 victory in the round of 16 over Greece's Antonia Giannakopoulou, booking her spot in Wednesday’s quarter-final. “We knew it was going to be a tough fight, she’s very much an aggressor so I was expecting her to be coming forward,” said Lehane, who was a class apart despite having a point deducted in the opening round. “A lot of the tactics went to plan. I dug deep in round two.”

Jack Marley is into the quarter-final in the 92kg category having beaten Greece’s Vagkan Nanitzanian 4-1 in the round of 16. However, with only two Olympic berths available, he remains two wins away from qualification. Sean Mari suffered a 5-0 defeat in his last-16 bout at 51kg, losing to Spain’s Martin Molina Salvador.

Kelyn Cassidy was a comfortable winner over Britain’s Taylor Jay Bevan in their last-16 bout, setting up a pivotal – but intimidating – clash against the gifted Ukrainian, Oleksandr Khyzhniak, on Wednesday.

In rugby sevens, Ireland took a giant leap towards Olympic qualification with a third straight victory to close out the pool stages on Monday morning, second-half tries by Jordan Conroy and Andrew Smith helping them past Germany on a 19-7 scoreline. Later in the day, they dismissed Belgium 26-12 in the quarter-final, setting up a semi-final clash with Portugal just before midday on Tuesday. They’ll be favoured to win there, with Great Britain their likely rivals if they reach the final on Tuesday evening. A win there would secure Olympic qualification.

“The end goal is to win that final, but each game is very important from here on out – it’s knockout,” said Billy Dardis. “We have to be right on it, very accurate and clinical.” Jordan Conroy added: “It’s always a little nerve-wracking with so much on the line, everyone is bringing their A-game. We’re still building. We’ll do nothing different, get a good night’s rest, focus from the get-go, play our game and it should do us the job, hopefully. We’ve got one game to get out of the way first, then we can have our eyes on the prize.”

Elsewhere, Jake Passmore finished 11th in the one-metre springboard diving final. In badminton, mixed doubles pair Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan won their opening match with ease, 21-14, 21-13. Magee then teamed up with Paul Reynolds to score a group stage win in men’s doubles, while Rachael Darragh lost her opening match 2-0 in the women’s singles. Nhat Nguyen edged a tight opening match in the men’s singles, with Kate Frost and Moya Ryan losing their opening match in women’s singles.