GOLD MEDAL ALERT – Dominant Dearbhla Tinnelly destroys opponent in European final
Ireland has a new European champion following a sensational performance in Sofia from Dearbhla Tinnelly.
The Dundalk light heavyweight largely dominated Ukrainian Karine Airapetian to seal a gold medal at the Youth (U18) championships following a brilliant week in Bulgaria.
A silver medallist at Schoolgirls (U14) level in 2018 and a bronze medallist at the Junior (U16) grade in 2019, Tinnelly completed the set with an assured performance in the Sofia Hall.
The Clann Naofa southpaw had looked long and powerful with unanimous wins over Poland and Norway beforehand and while Ayrapetyan proved to be a game opponent, she was no match for the Tinnnelly.
Repeatedly landing simple one-twos, a calm Tinnelly banked the opening two rounds, putting herself in an unassailable lead.
It went from bad to worse for Airapetian in the final round as she was docked a point for desperately clubbing to the back of the head. To her credit, the Ukrainian never stopped coming and her furious aggression forced Tinnelly into a deduction of her own for dropping the head. Needing to get back to range, the Lough fighter did just that to round out the win.
The final cards read 29-26 four times with a 29-25 thrown in for good measure as Tinnelly jumped for joy.
It was a big win for Ireland who were returning to European U18 competition for the first time since 2019 and entering fighters in the women’s heavier weights unlike in previous editions.
Tinnelly looks a real talent and could easily make an instant impact on there Senior scene when she graduates later this year.
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There was no joy, however, for Mayo light middleweight Laura Moran who lost out in her final just moments before.
The Westport warrior was up against reigning champion Veronika Nakota and lost an agonising 3-2 split decision.
Having made a dream start and taking the first round 4-1, Moran came under fire in the second as the Ukrainian came storming to take the round on all cards. All to play for in the decider, it was split 3-2 to Nakota who claimed the win and her third European underage gold medal.
