Belfast sister and brother Michaela and Aidan Walsh have qualified for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. From the Monkstown Boxing Club in Belfast’s Newtownabbey, Michaela was too slick for Thour in the quarter-finals of the restarted contest, earning Olympic status with all five judges agreeing on the winner in a 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 decision. Ireland’s Aidan Walsh celebrates after beating Yevhenii Barabanov of Ukriane during the European Boxing Road To Tokyo Qualifier at Le Grand Dome, Villebon-sur-Yvette in Paris. But the Irishman held on, sometimes literally to Barabanov and might have been on the verge of receiving a deduction. Photograph: Dave Winter/InphoThe 31-year-old Harrington unanimously impressed all five judges against the professional boxer winning 29-26, 29-28, 29-27, 29-28, 29-28 in what was a promising weekend for Irish boxing.

Source: The Irish Times June 06, 2021 17:03 UTC