Katie Taylor lost in her bid to qualify for Rio 2016 at the European Olympic qualifiers in Samsun, Turkey today.
The Olympic champion was beaten on a unanimous decision – 39-37 across the board – by Azerbaijan’s Yana Alexseevna in the lightweight semi-finals of the tournament after four tight rounds.
The top two females (the finalists) in each of the three Olympic weight classes for women qualify for Rio in Samsun.
Alexseevna has now qualified, along with Italy’s Irma Tessa who beat Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva in the the corresponding semi-final today.
Taylor will meet Staneva in a box-off for third and fourth place on Sunday. But she cannot now qualify directly for Rio from Samsun, regardless of Sunday’s result.
The Bray woman will get one final opportunity to qualify for August’s Olympics at the World Women’s Championships in Kazakhstan next month.
Brendan Irvine and David Oliver Joyce will be in action this afternoon for places in Rio. Session begins at 4pm (Irish time).
European Olympic Qualifiers Samsun, Turkey
April 15th
S/Finals
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) v Narek Abgaryan (Armenia)
52kg Muhammad Ali (Great Britain) v Daniel Asenov (Bulgaria)
60kg Katie Taylor (Ireland) lost to Yana Alexseevna (Azerbaijan) 0-3
60kg Svetlana Staneva (Bulgaria) lost to Irma Tessa (Italy) 1-2
(Alexseevna and Tessa qualify for Rio)
60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) v Joe Cordina (Great Britain)
60kg Sofiane Oumiha (France) v Volkan Gokcek (Turkey)
European Olympic Qualifiers Samsun, Turkey
April 9th
Preliminaries
64kg Dean Walsh (Ireland) beat Erik Agataljan (Czech Republic) 3-0
91kg+ Dean Gardiner (Ireland) beat Simen Nysater (Norway) 3-0
April 11th
Last 16
51kg Ceire Smith (Ireland) beat Virginia Barankas (Hungary) 3-0
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) beat Hamza Touba (Germany) 3-0
64kg Dean Walsh (Ireland) lost to Lorenzo Sotomayor (Azerbaijan) 1-2
60kg Katie Taylor (Ireland) beat Martina Schmoranzova (Czech Republic) 3-0
75kg Christina Desmond (Ireland) beat Nouchka Fontijan (Netherlands) 2-0
91kg+ Dean Gardiner (Ireland) lost to Mahammadrausl Majidor (Azerbaijan) 0-3
April 12th
Last 16
60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) beat Otar Eranosyan (Georgia) 3-0
75kg Michael O’Reilly (Ireland) lost to Ilari Kijala (Finland) 0-3
91kg Darren O’Neill (Ireland) beat Gabriel Richards (Sweden) TKO1
April 13th
Q/Finals
51kg Ceire Smith (Ireland) lost to Tetyna Kob (Ukraine) 1-2
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) beat Ellie Konki (France) 2-1
60kg Katie Taylor (Ireland) beat Yvonne Rasmussen (Denmark) 3-0
60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) beat Vazgen Sufaryants (Belarus) 3-0
75kg Christina Desmond (Ireland) lost to Petra Scatmari (Hungary) 0-3
91kg Darren O’Neill (Ireland) lost to Abdulkadir Abdullayev (Azerbaijan) 1-2
Irish squad
Female
51kg Ceire Smith (Cavan)
60kg Katie Taylor (Bray)
75kg Christina Desmond (Fr Horgans)
Male
52kg Brendan Irvine (St Pauls)
60kg David Oliver Joyce (AIBA Pro Boxing)
64kg Dean Walsh (St Joesphs/St Ibars)
75kg Michael O’Reilly (Portlaoise)
91kg Darren O’Neill (Paulstown)
91+kg Dean Gardiner (Clonmel)
Team manager: Joe Hennigan
Coaches: Zaur Antia, Eddie Bolger, John Conlan
Physiotherapist: Julianne Ryan
Sports Psychologist: Gerry Hussey
Doctor: Jim Clover
Performance Analyst: Alan Swanton
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