Rio Olympian Steven Donnelly got the Northern Ireland boxing team off to a winning start at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia today.
The Ballymena middleweight, who reached the last-eight at the 31st Olympiad, secured a 4-1 victory over Kyran Jones of Wales with one judge awarding him a 10-8 round.
The former Irish Elite champion will now meet Gibrilla Kamara of Pakistan in the last-16 on Sunday.
European Elite bronze medallist Kurt Walker and Aidan Walsh are between the ropes tomorrow versus Australia and Pakistan.
England’s Luke McCormack won yesterday and renews acquaintances with Sean McComb on Sunday for a place in the last-eight.
The clash is a repeat of the 2017 European Elite quarter-final which McCormack edged on a 3-2 split decision.
Kristina O’Hara, Carly McNaul, Michaela Walsh, Alanna Nihell, Dee Sullivan and Stephen McMonagle start their campaigns at the quarter-final stage and are all just one win away from at least bronze.
Walsh, the current Irish and EU Elite featherweight champion, was edged out on a 2-1 split decision by two-time Olympic champion Nicola Adams in the 2014 Commonwealth flyweight final in Glasgow.
Northern Ireland, under head coach John Conlan, father of two-time Irish Olympian Michael Conlan, are using an 11-strong squad in Australia.
