Kellie Harrington will fight for a gold medal on Sunday morning after securing at least an Olympic silver, courtesy of an accomplished lightweight semi-final victory over Sudaporn Seesondee of Thailand.
The Portland Row pugilist prevailed on points by a split decision - winning on three of the five judges' cards - after asserting her authority on proceedings in the third and final round.
Harrington beat the Thai fighter in the final at the World Championships in 2018, but the opening round proved a cagey affair in a clash of styles.
Seesondee's may possess admirable footwork and speed, but Harrington's effortless natural power means her shots are far more powerful weapons when they do land.
Harrington probed with her left jab before connecting with a couple of potent right hooks in an opening round where both fighters spent much of their time feinting and looking to create an opening.
The judges awarded Harrington the first round 3-2.
Seesondee struck early with a straight right in the second round. A left hook and a couple of rights followed from the Thai fighter as she grew in confidence. However, an otherwise tentative Harrington did land with a meaningful overhand left.
Harrington seized back the initiative in the deciding round, connecting with a solid left hook, while Seesondee struggled to find her range despite unleashing a flurry of punches.
The left hook was a shot that Harrington continually looked to deploy and she even had time to flash a broad smile in the knowledge that the result was almost in the bag.
The judges awarded her the bout on points in a split decision, with three judges scoring it 29-28 to Harrington, while the remaining two judges favoured Seesondee on that scoreline.
Harrington will fight Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil in the gold medal bout.
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Ferreira should prove a formidable opponent at 6am Irish time on Sunday morning after she dominated the second semi-final against Finland's Mira Potkonen.
The Brazilian pocket rocket was much too busy for an opponent who will turn 41 in November and eased to victory via a unanimous decision.
"I boxed Sudaporn in 2018 in the World final and it was a 3-2 split decision. It was a very, very close decision back then. It was a chess match back then, and it was a chess match today again," Harrington told RTÉ Sport in the aftermath of her victory.
"She's a fantastic operator, she has a really, really strong left hand, so I was trying not to get hit with that and trying to stay away from it! Trying to tease her on, like my coaches said, and then counter. I felt a little more comfortable towards the end, standing instead of running. It was fantastic, just brilliant."
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Coach John Conlan was delighted that Harrington had again executed the tactics devised to see off Seesondee.
"Primarily, the Thai girl is a counterpuncher and sets good traps," Conlan opined.
"We worked in training on trying to occupy her and meet her with the hooks. It worked really well."
Turning his attention to the final, the Ireland coach added: "We'll prepare, we'll watch videos, we'll come up with a plan, we'll action that in padwork and in training.
"We'll manage her weight because she has been brilliant on her weight, and we'll just enjoy this. Everybody in the team is enjoying this."
IABA high performance director Bernard Dunne was unsure of his emotions, except in his confidence that Harrington had deserved the victory: "Relief is the wrong word. I thought we did enough to get the decision. I was amazed at how in control Kellie was and how focused she stayed.
"Even under the high pressure and expectation, she remained in control. We probably got some of the expectation out of the way when she secured a medal. Now it's about what colour. That is what we've been focusing on.
"Kellie stuck to the plan. She stayed in control. Kellie understands what she needs to do each day when she comes into it."
Thoughts immediately turn to the final against Ferreira and what Team Ireland can do for Harrington.
Dunne added: "I sat and watched the Brazilian while Kellie was doing her media stuff. I had a quick chat with the coaches and we'll meet this evening and we’ll go through the initial battle plan and that will be worked on over the next couple of days going into Sunday.
"You need to have a full understanding of what we’re about and we have that. We know what Kellie’s strengths are and we’re going to impose that. That’s our plan. They’ll come in with the same plan too and whoever can implement that will win."
