Ireland celebrated a strong showing at the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool as Aoife O’Rourke, Patsy Joyce, and Grainne Walsh all secured medals in their respective categories.
O’Rourke, the Paris Olympian, earned her spot on the podium with a 4-1 victory over Norway’s Sunniva Hofstand in the 75kg quarter-final. She will face China’s Chengyu Yang in the semi-final on Saturday. “It’s just about taking it one fight at a time,” O’Rourke said. “I am just grateful to have gotten that medal and we’ll push on in the next one and see what we can do.”
In the men’s 55kg division, Westmeath teenager Patsy Joyce advanced with a 3-2 split decision over Uzbekistan’s Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov. Joyce, the youngest on the Irish team at 19, will meet Spain’s Rafael Serrano Lozano in the semi-final. “I was the underdog yesterday and in the last-16 win over Bulgaria’s Javier Ibanez Diaz,” he told World Boxing. “Age is only a number, and I’m smashing them up.”
Grainne Walsh also impressed, winning a hard-fought 65kg last-eight bout against Olympic silver medallist and former world champion Tang Liu. Despite losing a point during the match, Walsh prevailed through a split decision that went to countback, securing her place in the semi-finals and adding another medal to Ireland’s tally.
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