European Championships: Kellie Harrington well tested but moves into last eight

A little more tried if not tested, Kellie Harrington has advanced to the last eight of the lightweight contest on day two of the European Championships in Budva, Montenegro.

In the final bout of the Saturday evening session, Harrington secured a split-decision win over the young Turkish fighter Gizem Ozer, a European Under-22 silver medal winner from earlier this year, who certainly didn’t make it easy on the reigning Olympic champion.

Three of the five judges awarded the first round to Harrington, as did four after the second round, the Dublin fighter doing enough again in the third round to secure the split-decision win, and moves into the quarter-final round on Wednesday against Britain’s Shona Whithall, a win there ensuring her a medal of some colour.

Budva is Harrington’s first championship since winning that Olympic gold in Tokyo 14 months ago, her first round win on Friday’s unanimous over Maiva Hamadouche from France.

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Harrington did win a tournament in Sofia in February, and looks well on course to add a first European gold to her Olympic title from last year, and World crown from 2018. She previously won European bronze, also in 2018, this win, her 98 amateur fight, extending her record to 80 wins, 17 losses, and one draw.

Earlier, Belfast fighter Carly McCaul also secured an unanimous winner over Romania’s Ana Alexandra Gheorghe in her flyweight bout, two judges scored it 30-25 in McNaul’s favour, plus a 30-26 and two 30-27 cards, after Gheorghe was forced into a couple of standing counts.

Next up for McCaul is a medal bout against Olena Savchuk in Tuesday afternoon’s 52kg quarter-finals.

Michaela Walsh had a lot more to handle in her featherweight bout, a storming round just enough the see her past her French opponent Amina Zidani.

Walsh found enough reserves in the final round to convince all five judges, winning on a split decision victory. She will next face Romania’s Claudia Nechita on Tuesday afternoon.

Harrington is far from the only Irish contender for medals come finals day on Saturday week. Amy Broadhurst can win a unique hat-trick of gold medals, the Dundalk fighter already having won the light-welterweight title at those World Championships in Istanbul, before adding the Commonwealth Games lightweight title in Birmingham in July.

She returns to light-welterweight here, a non-Olympic category, the 25-year-old again well fancied to win gold having won bronze three years ago, and takes on a Turkish opponent on Sema Caliskan on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, Aoife O’Rourke begins the defence of her European heavyweight title against a Greek opponent, before middleweight Christina Desmond meets a Ukrainian in the evening session on Sunday.