Darren O’Connor (University of Galway) won his quarter final contest against Axel Piette of France at the World Combat Games on Tuesday afternoon to secure himself a bronze medal.
He was 4-1 down after the first round but superior quality punches in the second and third rounds meant he swept the boards in both rounds to claim a unanimous decision win. This was an all action contest followed hot on the heels of his stoppage of Japanese champion Shunsuke Kitamoto on Monday in a similar all action contest. O’Connor now boxes for at least a silver medal in Thursday’s semi finals.
Action in Turkey on Wednesday sees 75kg Aoibhe Carabine box for at least silver while 57kg Patryk Adamus, 66kg Leanne Murphy and 71kg Matthew McCole box for bronze.
The World Cup includes 6 sports: Boxing, Karate, Muaythai, Sambo, Wrestling and Wushu. It takes place in Samsun, Turkey, from September 21st to 30th. The cup embraces a university-versus-university format instead of national delegations. The tournament ‘s website is here.
The Cup is a biannual event organised by FISU, the International University Sports Federation, of which Ireland has been a member since 1987.
Irish Team:
57kg: Patryk Adamus – National College of Ireland
63.5kg Darren O’Connor – University of Galway
66kg: Leanne Murphy – University of Limerick
71kg: Matthew McCole – Atlantic Technoligical University, Letterkenny
75kg Aoibhe Carabine – Atlantic Technoligical University, Galway.
Team Manager
Paul Geoghegan
Coach
Paddy Gallagher