Gráinne Walsh, who narrowly missed out on Olympic qualification due to a highly debated decision earlier this year, will be the first Irish boxer in action at the final qualification tournament starting in Bangkok on Friday. The Tullamore welterweight is one of 37 competitors fighting for one of four qualification spots in the 66kg weight class. She will face Ngoc Hoang from Vietnam in a round of 64 match on Friday afternoon.
Belfast’s Aidan Walsh, a bronze medallist from the 2021 Tokyo Games, will enter the ring on Saturday. Walsh is among a record 70 boxers competing for the four available slots in the 71kg category. He is set to fight Mogunde Maina from Kenya.
Light heavyweight Kelyn Cassidy aims to follow in the footsteps of Kenneth Egan and Joe Ward by qualifying for the Olympics. He will start his campaign against Delil Dadaev from Germany on Saturday. Cassidy is competing in a division with 56 boxers, but only the top three finishers will qualify for the Paris Olympics. Also on Saturday, Sean Mari (50kg) will face Muhammad Faheem from Pakistan. The Monkstown clubman shares the same half of the draw as Roscoe Hill from the United States, who suffered from a controversial judging decision at the first qualification tournament in Milan.
Enniskerry’s Daina Moorehouse, who narrowly missed qualification at both the European Games last year and the Milan tournament, has received a bye in the first round of the 50kg weight division. Moorehouse, one of 34 boxers in her category, will meet Anush Grigoryan from Armenia next Friday.
Jenny Lehane (54kg) will compete on Tuesday against Angelyris Lopez from Puerto Rico, while super heavyweight Martin McDonagh will start his campaign against Minh Ngoc from Vietnam on Wednesday. McDonagh is one of 34 boxers in his category.