Five Strandja Medals Secured by Team Ireland

Following the completion of Strandja’s two days of quarter finals, 5 Team Ireland boxers will return with medals.

Louis Rooney, the 48kg European U23 champion, boxed his first contest of the tournament, and made his debut in the opening bout of Ring A’s Afternoon session against 2023 World champ, Kazakhstan’s Shanzar Taskenbay. 

The bout, which began at high tempo, was stopped by way of RSCI after Taskenbay sustained an injury to his left hand. Rooney will box for an up-grade on Saturday.

Team Captain, Adam Hession, contested his quarter final against England’s Jack Dryden. The lightweight eventually won a tight, testy bout via a 3-2 split decision. Hession will now meet Kazakhstan’s Serik Termirzhanov in the semi finals. Termirzhanov secured his semi final spot with a win over Hession’s team-and-weight mate, Rhys Owens. Owens won his way through to the QFs following a 3-2 win over Georgia’s Artyush Gomtsyan but lost in the medal bout.

Paris Olympian Dean Clancy returned for his second bout of the competition, following a 5-0 preliminaries win over Uzbekistan’s Sayat Ilyasov. Clancy met England’s Patris Mughalzai and equalled that result. The Sligo native looks to upgrade on Saturday. His weight-mate, 63.5kg Jason Nevin, boxed his second bout against Mukhammedsabyr Bazarbayuulu of Kazakhstan and lost a hard fought contest.

80kg James Whelan was also back in action for his second contest on Thursday, boxing Kazakhstan’s Yerassyl Zhakpekov, and despite meeting his opponent toe-to-toe, came out the wrong side of a 4-1 split.

Just one Team Ireland boxer in action on women’s semi final day – 48kg Ciara Walsh makes her Strandja debut assured of at least a bronze medal. Walsh opens procedings, in Ring A’s Afternoon Session, against Kazakhstan’s Aigerim Saattibayeva.