George Bates, Emmett Brennan and Kiril Afanasev will be the first Irish boxers in action on Sunday at the European qualifiers for Tokyo 2020 in London.
The tournament begins tomorrow at the Copperbox Arena, but no Irish athletes are between the ropes on Day 1.
Kellie Harrington, the 2018 World Elite lightweight champion, awaits either Aneta Rygielska (Poland) or Paula Cosmo (Romania) in the last 16 on St Patrick’s Day.
Harrington, Kurt Walker and Michaela Walsh are seeded No. 2 in their respective weights in London.
Seventy-seven places at Tokyo 2020 will be up for grabs in London – 50 for men and 27 for women.
There will be box-offs – for the losing quarter-finalists – to decide the final qualification placings in the seven weights requiring top 6 or top 5 finishes.
Boxing begins at 12 noon tomorrow.
European Qualifiers for Tokyo 2020
Copperbox Arena London March 13/24
Last
March 15
Last 32
63kg George Bates (Ireland) v Leon Dominguez (Spain)
81kg Emmett Brennan (Ireland) v Radenko Tomic (Bosnia)
91kg Kiril Afanasev (Ireland) v Begadze Nikoloz (Georgia)
Last
March 16
Last 32
69kg Aidan Walsh (Ireland) v Pavel Kamanin (Estonia)
75kg Michael Nevin (Ireland) v Pas der Van (Netherlands)
Last 16
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) v Istavan Szaka (Hungary)
51kg Carly McNaul (Ireland) v Charley Davison (Team Great Britain)
57kg Kurt Walker (Ireland) v Hamsat Shadolov (Germany) or Anton Charnamaz (Belarus)
March 17
Last 16
57kg Michaela Walsh (Ireland) v Melissa Morensen (Denmark) or Mona Mestian (France)
60kg Kellie Harrington (Ireland) v Aneta Rygielska (Poland) or Paula Cosmo (Romania)
69kg Christina Desmond (Ireland) v Angela Carina (Italy)
75kg Aoife O’Rourke (Ireland) v Viktoriya Kebikava (Belarus)
March 18
Last 16
91kg+ Dean Gardiner (Ireland) v Petar Belberov (Bulgaria)
Irish squad
(Olympic qualification standard in brackets)
Male
52kg Brendan Irvine (St Paul’s, Antrim) Cpt (Top 8)
57kg Kurt Walker (Canal, Antrim) (Top 8)
63kg George Bates (St Mary’s, Dublin) (Top 8)
69kg Aidan Walsh (Monkstown, Antrim) (Top 6)
75kg Michael Nevin (Portlaoise, Laois) (Top 6)
81kg Emmett Brennan (Dublin Docklands) (Top 6)
91kg Kiril Afanasev (Smithfield, Dublin) (Top 4)
91+kg Dean Gardiner (Clonmel, Tipperary) (Top 4)
Female
51kg Carly McNaul (Ormeau Road, Belfast) (Top 6)
57kg Michaela Walsh (Monkstown, Antrim) (Top 6)
60kg Kellie Harrington (St Mary’s, Dublin) (Top 6)
69kg Christina Desmond (Fr Horgan’s, Cork, Garda BC) (Top 5)
75kg Aoife O’Rourke (Castlerea, Roscommon) (Top 4)
High-Performance Director: Bernard Dunne
Coaches: Zaur Antia, John Conlan, Dmitry Dimitruk