More success for the Irish as Daina Moorehouse moves one fight away from Olympic spot
Tokyo silver medallist Aidan Walsh wins through to Sunday box-off for Paris place
Daina Moorehouse is another Irish boxer one win away from Olympic qualification.
Enniskerry flyweight Daina Moorehouse gave another masterclass performance to secure a place in the quarter-final of the 50kg division at the Olympic qualification tournament in Bangkok.
The 22-year old is now one win away for securing a slot in the flyweight class at the Paris Olympics after her unanimous 5-0 win over Aylin Jamez from Guatemala.
Singularly unfortunate not to win her clutch fights at both the European Games last year in Poland and again at the first Olympic qualifier in Italy, this is Moorehouse’s final chance to make the Paris Olympics.
Having eased to a unanimous 5-0 win in her first bout against Anush Grigoryan from Armenia, Moorehouse was even more dominant against Jamez, who never came to terms with her opponent’s southpaw stance.
Moorehouse is extremely difficult to hit, and her hand speed, footwork and all-round skills makes her a potential star. She totally dominated the nine-minute contest coasting to a 30-27 shut-out win on all five judges’ cards.
Jamez never gave up but the look of resignation on her face when the final bell sounded was testimony to the fact she knew she had been outclassed.
Having been at the wrong end of judging decisions in the past, particularly at the first qualification tournament in Milan, Moorehouse is due a change of fortune in tomorrow’s quarter final.
The Enniskerry flyweight will meet Zlatislova Chukanova from Bulgaria in the last eight contest. She was beaten by Ireland's Shannon Sweeney in the gold medal 50kg fight at the recent European championships.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Aidan Walsh earned himself a second chance at becoming a two-time Olympian when he achieved a unanimous 5-0 win over Cuba’s Jorge Cuellar.
There are five spots available in the 91kg category and the Belfast fighter meets Puerto Rico’s Angel Gabriel Lianos Perez in Sunday’s box-off with the winner assured of a slot in Paris.
