The draw for the 2019 World Women’s Elite Championships begins at 9am (Irish time) tomorrow morning in Ulan-Ude, Siberia.
It’s expected that 67 nations will go into the hat for the draw at the first World Women’s Elites in Russia since Podolsk 2005 where Katie Taylor and Alanna Murphy reached the quarter-finals.
The opening ceremony will also be held tomorrow with boxing slated to begin on Thursday at 6am (Irish time).
Ulan-Ude is seven hours ahead of Ireland.
The four-strong Irish squad of Ceire Smith, Michaela Walsh, Amy Broadhurst and Christina Desmond and staff arrived in Siberia last Friday following their training camp at the German Olympic Centre in Kienbaum.
The Irish quartet is competing in four – flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight – of the five Olympic weights for women at the 11th edition of the tournament.
The first Olympic qualifier will be in London next March.
Bernard Dunne, IABA High-Performance Director, said that the team is in top shape and eager to get into the ring in Ulan-Ude.
Russian coach Sofya Ochigava, a gold medalist at 52kg in Podolsk 14 years ago, believes the tournament will be a test for the host nation.
“I can also remember the successful result at the women’s world championship in 2005. Now the most important thing is to competently approach the tournament, psychologically set up and try to achieve a good result,” said Ochigava who beat Katie Taylor in the 2010 Usti Memorial in the Czech Republic but lost the 2011 and 2012 European, World and Olympic finals to the Bray woman.
11th World Women’s Elite Championships Ulan-Ude, Siberia, Russia
Irish squad
51kg Ceire Smith (Cavan)
57kg Michaela Walsh (Monkstown, Antrim)
60kg Amy Broadhurst (Dealgan)
69kg Christina Desmond (Fr Horgan’s)
High-Performance Director: Bernard Dunne
Head coach: Zaur Antia
Dimitry Dimitruk and Damian Kennedy