Irish boxer Aidan Walsh has withdrawn from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after injuring his ankle while celebrating his quarter-final victory over Mervin Clair of Mauritius.
Team Ireland confirmed on Saturday that Belfast native Walsh, 23, was withdrawing from the Olympics ahead of his bout with Great Britain’s Pat McCormack in the semi-final of the Men’s Welterweight competition which was due to take place on Sunday.
Walsh’s decision to withdraw was made in conjunction with his medical team.
? #Boxing
It’s officially an Olympic bronze medal for #TeamIreland’s Aidan Walsh, who has been withdrawn from today’s Men’s Welterweight semi-final bout due to an ankle injury sustained in the quarter-finals #Tokyo2020
? https://t.co/rRSdrEPem5 pic.twitter.com/ScumJXdXg6
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 31, 2021
Despite withdrawing, Walsh is still bringing home a bronze medal for Ireland which he secured in his quarter-final bout against Clair on Friday. In doing so, Walsh became the sixteenth Irish boxer to bring home a medal from the Olympic games.
The tally of Olympic boxing medals now stands at 17, more than 50 percent of the overall medals won by Team Ireland at Olympic Games.
Bernard Dunne, Team Ireland's team leader for boxing, said: “What Aidan did this week is an incredible achievement.
“His performance throughout the tournament has been outstanding. And it is great to see him write his name in the annals of Irish sport.
“Just over two years ago we selected Aidan for his first major championship, and over the past few months that potential that we had identified has grown and developed into a world class performance, that reflects greatly on the level of preparation he has put in ahead of these Games.”
“These are a unique Games, and I’m really impressed with the team itself. They’ve all been rallying around each other, and I know that we will continue to do so."
Elsewhere in boxing, Kurt Walker lost out to Duke Ragan (USA) by split decision in his Men's Feather quarter-final on Saturday, while Kellie Harrington will take on Algeria's Imane Khelif on Tuesday in the quarter-finals of the lightweight division.
Kellie Harrington takes the win by unanimous decision over Rebecca Nicoli of Italy and marches into the Women’s Light quarter finals ?????#TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/n3mzsZgDTj
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 30, 2021
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