Boxing

Aidan Walsh forced into box-off to nail down place in Paris as Broadhurst’s Olympic dream dies

Grainne Walsh and Daina Moorehouse stay a step closer to summer Games

Aidan Walsh of Ireland left, with Ireland coach Damian Kennedy during his Men's 71kg quarter final bout against Zeyad Eashash of Jordan at the Paris 2024 Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament at Hua Mak Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand
Aidan Walsh (left) with Ireland coach Damian Kennedy during his Men's 71kg quarter final bout against Zeyad Eashash of Jordan at the Paris 2024 Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament at Hua Mak Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand (Joe Walsh / SPORTSFILE)

Aidan Walsh faces a box-off to secure a place in this summer’s Olympics in Paris but Amy Broadhurst’s dreams of representing Team GB at the Games are over.

Walsh lost his quarter-final bout Zeyad Eashash of Jordan on Friday and will now enter into a four-man box-off this weekend as he seeks to join sister Michaela in Paris.

The Holy Family weleterweight was docked a point in the second and third rounds of his contest with Eashash for holding after winning the opening round.

That led to Walsh – a bronze medalist in Tokyo – losing the contest on a 4-1 split decision.

However, he still has a chance of making this summer’s Games when he takes part in a box-off with the three other defeated quarter-finalists for the last remaining 71kg spot in Paris.

Grainne Walsh, meanwhile, took a step closer to a first Olympic Games after she came though her last 16 bout against Seda Sanago of the Ivory Coast.

Walsh scored a unanimous 5-0 victory and now knows that a win in Sunday’s quarter-final will seal her spot in Paris.

Wicklow’s Daina Moorehouse is two wins away from a debut Olympics. She clinched a 4-1 split decision win over Armenia’s Anush Grigoryan in her last 16 bout and will take part in the quarter-finals of the 50kg category on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Dundalk lightweight Amy Broadhurst, who had switched allegiance to the Team GB in a bid to make this summer’s Games, was defeated by Oh Yeoh-ji of South Korea and now cannot qualify for Paris.