Aidan Walsh has withdrawn from the semi-final of the men’s welterweight competition at the Olympic Games due to the ankle injury sustained in his previous bout.
The Belfast boxer was due to fight in Sunday’s semi-final against Pat McCormack of Great Britain but due to an ankle injury, the decision has been made in conjunction with his medical team.
Walsh had initially hoped to compete and waited to give himself every opportunity to do so. However subsequent scans and medical reviews have now ruled out this possibility.
Aidan Walsh is guaranteed at least bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Belfast welterweight beat Mervin Clair of Mauritius on a 4-1 split decision this morning to book his ticket into the semi-finals.
A close and intense bout saw Walsh land the majority of scoring shots to take the first round on all cards, with Clair barely getting a punch in.
The second round was a lot closer with southpaw Clair landing with two left hooks but Walsh replying with backhands. Three of the judges went with Walsh in the second round leaving Clair needing a 10-8 round in the third to turn it around.
But with Walsh boxing so intelligently and keeping the round tight that was never going to happen with Walsh landing most of the scoring punches in the last round.
Speaking to RTE after the bout, 24-year-old Walsh, who will face Britain’s Pat McCormack next, said he was delighted with the win and feels that he’s improving all the time.
“It’s incredible,” he said.
“I watched those guys in the gyms all the time. Paddy Barnes, Mick Conlan… Seeing them coming back to Belfast on the big buses.
“The amount of training I’ve put in and the amount of sacrifices… my coaches, my club coaches, my family and girlfriend, everybody has given me so much support and I’m just so grateful.
“I just do what the coaches tell me. They come up with a game plan and you just do it, just listen. Boxers say it’s like a computer game, they’re playing a computer game, I’m just the operator in it and doing my best to do what they’re telling me to do.
“I’m happy with my performance but I want to progress on. You want to be the best and I feel like I’m improving all the time.”
When told he would face McCormack next, Walsh responded: “He faces Ireland’s Aidan Walsh, that’s the way I’m looking at it.
“It’s just going in there with the belief that you can beat anybody, with the right tactics and coaches. I’m getting better and better every fight.”
Tokyo Olympics
July 24th
Last 32 57kg Kurt Walker (Ireland) beat Jose Quiles (Spain) 5-0
July 25th
Last 32 81kg Emmet Brennan (Ireland) lost to Dilshod Ruzmetov (Uzbekistan) 0-5
July 26th Last 32
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) lost to Carlo Paalam (Philippines) 1-4
Last 16 57kg Michaela Walsh (Ireland) lost to Irma Testa (Italy) 0-5
July 27th Last 16
69kg Aidan Walsh (Ireland) beat Albert Menque (Cameroon) 5-0
July 28th
Last 16
75kg Aoife O’Rourke (Ireland) lost to Qian Li (China) 0-5 57kg Kurt Walker (Ireland) beat Mirazizbek Mitzakhalilov (Uzbekistan) 4-1
Aoife O’Rourke bowed out of the Tokyo Olympics to China’s No. 2 seed Qian Li in Tokyo this morning.
The former World champion and Rio 2016 bronze medalist won on a unanimous decision.
Li, who detonated sharp combinations throughout, took the first round 3-2 but O’Rourke had a big second round, although the judges again went with Li by a 3-2 margin.
O’Rourke was also frustrated by the constant holding of her opponent.
The third round was equally as close with O’Rourke finding the target with lefts and Li responding with combinations but it was the 2018 World champion that advanced at the expense of the Irishwoman.
Speaking on RTE, Ken Egan and Eric Donovan hailed O’Rourke’s display.
“I thought it was a brilliant performance,” said Donovan.
Tokyo Olympics
July 24th
Last 32 57kg Kurt Walker (Ireland) beat Jose Quiles (Spain) 5-0
July 25th
Last 32 81kg Emmet Brennan (Ireland) lost to Dilshod Ruzmetov (Uzbekistan) 0-5
July 26th Last 32
52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) lost to Carlo Paalam (Philippines) 1-4
Last 16 57kg Michaela Walsh (Ireland) lost to Irma Testa (Italy) 0-5
July 27th Last 16
69kg Aidan Walsh (Ireland) beat Albert Menque (Cameroon) 5-0
July 28th
Last 16
75kg Aoife O’Rourke (Ireland) lost to Qian Li (China) 0-5 57kg Kurt Walker (Ireland) beat Mirazizbek Mitzakhalilov (Uzbekistan) 4-1
July 30th Last 16
60hk Kellie Harrington (Ireland) v Rebecca Nicoli (Italy) or Esmerelda Falcon (Mexico)
Quarter-final 69kg Aidan Walsh (Ireland) v Mervin Clair (Mauritius) or Hussein Eashash (Jordan)
