Sport

Irish Olympic hopefuls bound for Paris after qualifier venue moved

Belfast's Michaela Walsh was due to fight the day after the European Olympic qualifier was suspended due to Covid-19. She will begin her bid in Paris in June. Picture by PA
Belfast's Michaela Walsh was due to fight the day after the European Olympic qualifier was suspended due to Covid-19. She will begin her bid in Paris in June. Picture by PA Belfast's Michaela Walsh was due to fight the day after the European Olympic qualifier was suspended due to Covid-19. She will begin her bid in Paris in June. Picture by PA

LONDON was calling this time last year, but Ireland’s Olympic hopefuls are instead bound for Paris in June as they eye up spots at this summer’s rescheduled Games in Tokyo.

The European Olympic qualifier got under way at the Copper Box Arena almost 12 months ago but, as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, it was eventually postponed after just three days of competition.

Flyweight Brendan Irvine was the only Irish fighter to seal his qualification before the curtain came down, and there will be at least eight others vying for Olympic spots in Paris from June 4-8.

The French capital was yesterday confirmed as the venue for the rest of the competition, following initial reports that it would be staged in Budapest, with the Hungarian Boxing Federation provisionally booking a venue for those dates.

The qualifier will start at the point at which it was suspended last year, and is expected to be held either behind closed doors or with limited attendance.

Of the Irish contingent, George Bates, Aidan Walsh, Michael Nevin, Emmet Brennan and Kirill Afanasev all registered wins in London, and will hope to pick off where they left off once the action resumes, while Michaela Walsh, Kellie Harrington and Aoife O’Rourke were just about to enter the fray before organisers pulled the plug.

It remains to be seen whether Ireland send a replacement for super-heavyweight Dean Gardiner, who announced his retirement from the sport towards the end of last year. As Gardiner wasn’t seeded Ireland can send someone in his place, although there is not a dearth of experienced options at 91+kg.

Galway’s Gytis Lisinskas got the nod at the Strandja multi-nations tournament in Bulgaria last week, losing his opening bout, but could be in pole position.

As well as the venue, the ground regarding overall qualification has also shifted considerably since London last year.

Last month the International Olympic Committee’s Boxing Task Force (BTF) confirmed that the rescheduled World qualifier had been cancelled, with the 52 Olympics spots - 32 men and 21 women – available from that event allocated equally across the four regions, Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe.

There is just one place available per continent in each of the 13 weight categories, to boxers who haven’t already qualified, with the Task Force compiling a ranking list following the completion of the respective continental qualifying events.

That has left 2019 European Games gold medallist Kurt Walker all but certain of his Olympic spot, despite surprisingly losing out to Germany Hamsat Shadalov at last year’s qualifier.

As things stand, regardless of the outcome in Paris, there is no way in which Walker can be overhauled at the top of the 57kg pile by virtue of the amount of points he has picked up in recent years.

The picture is less clear for the rest.

West Belfast siblings Michaela and Aidan Walsh have both seen their chances improved, although they will still need to win at least one bout in Paris.

Both face French opposition, with Michaela up against Mona Mestiaen while Aidan takes on the talented Wahid Hambli. If he beats Hambli, he would then have two shots at qualification – in the quarter-final and, should he lose that, an Olympic box-off.

Middleweight Nevin is in a similar boat, but needs to beat Armenia’s Arman Darchinyan to keep the dream alive. Barring an unlikely run of results, Dublin lightweight Kellie Harrington looks set for a first Olympic appearance, while O’Rourke’s destiny is still in her own hands.

Bates, Brennan and Afanasev, meanwhile, can only book their spots via the European qualifier.

Meanwhile, Olympic organising committee president Seiko Hashimoto has said a decision will be taken on whether overseas spectators will be able to attend the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games by March 25.

She added that a decision on venue capacity limits would be taken at the end of April, using current domestic capacity limits as a base.

"Regarding mutant strains [of Covid-19] that's something we need to thoroughly think of,” said Hashimoto, who held a five-party meeting with key Games stakeholders yesterday.

"As long as there is anxiety we need to make sure safety and security is going to be maintained. This is a point that the Japanese government, the Tokyo metropolitan government and Tokyo 2020 will consider.

"It's not about whether it's difficult or not [to have overseas spectators], it's whether it would link to the safety and security of the Games for Japanese citizens. That is the priority.

"They all want to watch the Games and safety and security needs to be maintained or it would be a burden on the mental aspect as well."