Dean Gardiner replacement Gytis Lisinskas suffers Olympic qualification defeat

Gytis Lisinskas failed to take full advantage of the late opportunity that came his way and excited the Olympic qualifiers in Paris this afternoon.

The Celtic Eagles prospect was drafted in as a replacement for the retired Dean Gardiner but won’t be gatecrashing the 2020 Olympics.

The Galway big man found himself in at the deep end against Bulgaria’s EU silver medallist Petar Belberov and came out second best.

Lisinskas did manage to win the opening frame and produced enough over three to suggest he is a talent that can be moulded. However, once the bodywork of the Bulgarian began to take effect the result never looked in doubt.

The opening minute proved a battle of the jabs which looked to suit B. However, once L landed a nice combination he grew in confidence and began show a bit a flair. Some nice right hands and a nicely set up left hook on top of some good footwork wonhim the round on four of the judges scorecards.

The second round belonged to B. The Bulgarian benefited from some good body work to take controll. The Galway native looked tired and lost his movement. Indeed he was happy to wait behind his gaurd, exploding with single shots hoping to do damage. B took the round and deservedly so to tee up a winner takes all final three minutes.

The third was enertaining as L tried to rally and in show patches of why the High Performance are so high on him. However the experienced Bulgarian was fitter, stronger and more accurate in his work, he unleashed to the body regularly and at times flirted with overwhelming his young opponent.

In the end he took an unamious points win to progress to the quarter finals.

The result means Ireland, who were unbeaten in the opening day, is still looking for a victory on day 2, as George Bates missed out on Olympic qualification earlier in the afternoon and like Lisinskas, Kirill Afanasev, lost in last 16 opening session action.

Ireland have three more chances of getting fighter on the plane to Tokyo today. Aoife O’Rourke, Kellie Harrington and Emmett Brennan could all qualify for the Games with victory in the evening session in Paris.

Gytis Lisinskas versus Peter Belberov of Bulgaria are in last 16 action will be the last Irish bout before the break.

The evening session hosts a mouthwatering clash between Harrington and reigning IBF world champion Maiva Hamadouche. Emmett Brennan fights Luka Plantic of Croatia, Aoife O’Rourke takes of Elzbieta Wojik of Poland, and two time Olympian Brendan Irvine will be looking to improve his seeding in his contest.