Amateur boxing: Strandja International tournament
CARLY McNaul missed out on a medal at the Strandja International tournament when she fell to a narrow defeat against Ukraine’s Tetyana Kob.
The east Belfast woman was the only Irish boxer in action in Bulgaria yesterday, and played her part in an intriguing fight that was tough to call.
In each round it was McNaul who set the pace from the off, landing a lovely straight left in the first before catching Kob flush with an uppercut.
However, the 34-year-old Ukrainian’s greater experience told towards the end of each round when she would finish strongly to leave an impression on judges. A veteran of the 2016 Rio Olympics, and a European gold medallist back in 2009, that bit of extra know-how proved decisive.
The second round followed a similar pattern, with the ringside judges again split, before all five favoured Kob in the last as she claimed a unanimous decision victory to advance to tomorrow’s semi-final.
With the Commonwealth Games coming up this summer, McNaul – a silver medallist in the Gold Coast four years ago - can take plenty of heart from her performances in Sofia, where superior fitness and strength saw her defeat Kazakhstan’s highly-rated Zhaina Shekerbekova on Monday.
There last two Irish boxers standing in Bulgaria bid for final places today – with Olympic golden girl Kellie Harrington leading the way.
The Tokyo 2020 podium-topper, building towards the World Championships in May, has already seen off Sweden’s Agnes Alexiusson and Kazakhstan's Aidana Zabynbekova en route to the lightweight last four, and will face another Kazakh, Rimma Volossenko, in the last four in today’s afternoon session.
Fellow Tokyo Olympian Aoife O’Rourke will be in the ring shortly after Harrington, when she takes on Russia’s Anastas Shamanova.
The Roscommon middleweight has impressed thus far, stopping Greece’s Vasiliki Stavridou in her first outing on Monday before overcoming France's Davina Michael on a unanimous decision on Wednesday.
