A busy third day of action at the European Games in Minsk saw mixed fortunes for Team Ireland.
Boxers Regan Buckley, James McGivern and Michael Nevin advanced to the next round, while Tony Browne lost on a 4-1 split in his bout.
Judoka Megan Fletcher finished seventh, getting within one fight of a medal, and the cyclists raced hard, with Robert Jon McCarthy the highest finisher in 30th place.
Shooting saw Aoife Gormally finish 15th in the Shotgun Trap qualifications, and teammate Derek Burnett 31st, missing out on the final.
Light-fly Buckley faced off against 2015 European Games gold medallist, Russia’s Bator Sagaluev (who beat Brendan Irvine in the 2015 final), and Buckley didn’t give him a second to settle, hitting the ring in full form from the off, working Sagaluev at every turn and boxing hard.
The Irish fighter kept up the intensity in the second round, mounting the pressure on a tiring Sagaluev, and punishing the Russian at every turn. Buckley carried this momentum into the last and scored a unanimous decision after an extremely dominant performance.
Despite a solid showing from Tony Browne, the Dubliner lost out to Croatian Tony Filipi on a 4-1 split decision in the heavyweight class.
The closely fought and extremely tactical battle was an engrossing contest, with Browne fighting hard throughout, but Filipi pipped it on a 4-1 split, with the final scores 29-27, 29-27, 29-27, 28-27 and 26-30.
James McGivern cruised his way into the next stage of the men's light welter, scoring a unanimous decision in his opening bout against Michal Takacs (Slovakia).
The Ulster fighter put in a slick performance in the ring, getting off to a strong start early on with some hard body hits and stylish footwork. McGivern kept the momentum in the second round, timing his hits well and not giving Takacs time to recover before the next blow landed and with the damage done early, a tired Takacs had to settle for second best, as McGivern secured the unanimous decision.
BOXING
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) June 23, 2019
WHAT A WIN BY MICHAEL NEVIN!!!
He advances once again 🥊🇮🇪🥊🇮🇪🥊🇮🇪🥊🇮🇪🥊 #TeamIreland #Minsk2019 pic.twitter.com/uwdKhZGimX
Michael Nevin was also in flying form in his second fight at the European Games, beating Rio 2016 bronze medallist Kamran Shakhsuvarly of Azerbaijan by a unanimous decision.
A solid start from Nevin saw him land some key early blows and, despite some rallying from Shakhsuvarly, Nevin mounted the pressure even further towards the closing stages of the round.
A strong second round from the Portlaoise-based boxer saw him begin to really test Shaksuvarly, gaining control in the early stages and delivering some key hits and his momentum carried through into the final round to see him home to a second victory over an extremely tough opponent.
Speaking afterwards, a delighted Nevin said: "I’m feeling really good, I can’t wait for the next fight now. I’m very happy with the performance and I’m feeling strong. We had a good plan beforehand, and it went well. I’ve a few days’ break now, so I’ll be feeling good and fresh after that."
Ireland's Megan Fletcher fell just short of winning a medal in the Women’s 70kg category in Judo.
Fletcher was impressive in her opening fight in a close encounter with Spain’s Sarah Rodriguez where she took a golden score win to progress to the last 16.
Fletcher came up against another tough opponent in the next round in Great Britain’s Sally Conway, the Rio 2016 Bronze medallist and 2018 European Championships silver medallist in the event. The fight was evenly matched throughout and with 20 seconds on the clock, a fantastic score ensured a place in the quarter finals for the Irishwoman.
In the quarter final, Nederland’s Sanne Van Dijke proved too strong for Fletcher and took the win with two minutes remaining on the clock,
Van Dijke went on to win her semi-final and finish runner-up to France's Margaux Pinot..
After three hard-fought contests, Fletcher bowed out of the competition in the repechage where she was beaten by Croatia’s Barbara Matic.
Aoife Gormally and Derek Burnett settled for 15th and 31st respectively in the Shotgun Trap competition at the European Games today. Today was the last of the qualification rounds and a very strong finish from Gormally saw her finish 15th out of 29 starters with 102 points in the women’s event. Tomorrow both athletes will compete in the mixed trap event.
The 180km Men's Road Race had five Team Ireland cyclists competing in a tough and hard event where the pace was fast from the start.
The early stages saw a small breakaway group gain over four minutes at one stage. The pace rose in the closing laps when the break was reeled back in, and going into the final lap Team Ireland's Ryan Mullen, Matthew Teggart, Michael O'Loughlin, Mark Downey and Robert Jon McCarthy were all part of the main peleton.
In the closing laps eventual winner Davide Ballerini (Italy) took the win with a solo attach to the line, Alo Jakin (Estonia) finished second and Daniel Auer (Austria) rounded off the podium. McCarthy was Ireland’s top finisher in 30th place, with O’Loughlin and Mullen finishing in the main peleton also.
Dynamic New Athletics (DNA) made its debut on Day 3 in Minsk with Team Ireland competing against Poland, Belarus, Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania across 8 events and the final decider of the match 'The Hunt'. There were four qualification matches today.
Stephen Gaffney got Ireland's campaign underway with an impressive performance in the Men’s 100m, crossing the line in 10.67 for second place. Next up, Sophie Meredith concluded the long jump in 6th place with her best a jump 5.74. Niamh Whelan ran a season’s best in the women’s 100m, finishing in 11.79 for fourth place while Grace Casey was also fourth in the javelin, her best throw 40.11.
Brendan Arrey, Sinead Denny, Catherine McManus and Andrew Mellon combined for the mixed 4x400m Relay where Ireland claimed another fourth place in 3:24.37 while Gerard O’Donnell clocked 14.15 and fourth once again.
Nelvin Appiah collected 7 points for Ireland in the Men’s High Jump. He finished in joint third with Czech Republic’s Martin Heindl. Sarah Lavin pushed Ireland in to third place ahead of the final event with a second-place finish in the women’s 110m Hurdles. Lavin was just outside her best of 13.26 clocking 13.46.
The match concluded with a new finale race 'The Hunt’, a Mixed Medley Relay of 800m, 600m, 400m and 200m with the winner progressing straight to the DNA Semi-Final. Ireland’s quartet of Conall Kirk, Amy O’Donoghue, Paul White and Victoria Harris finished in fifth place in 4:46.43 with Czech Republic earning the semi-final spot.
DAY FOUR SCHEDULE (IRISH TIME)
08:00 Shooting – Aoife Gormally and Derek Burnett Mixed Shotgun Trap Qualifications
11:40 Badminton – Nhat Nguyen (IRL) Vs Daniel Nikolav (BUL)
12:45 Boxing – Kurt Walker (IRL) Vs Zhirayr Shakh Men's Bantam 56kg
13:30 Boxing – Dean Gardiner (IRL) Vs Mikheil Bakhtidze (GEO) Men’s Super Heavy +91kg
14:00 Boxing – Michaela Walsh (IRL) Vs Lenuta-Lacramioara Perijoc Women’s Feather -57kg
14:45 Boxing – Grainne Walsh (IRL) Vs Rosie Eccles (GB) Women’s Welter -69kg
15:00 Badminton – Joshua Magee & Paul Reynolds (IRL) Vs Christopher Langridge & Marcus Ellis (GB) Men’s Doubles
17:45 Badminton – Chloe Magee & Sam Magee (IRL) Vs Evgenii Dremin & Evgenia Dimova (RUS) Mixed Doubles
18:00 Boxing – Kieran Molloy (IRL) Vs Yauheni Dauhaliavets (BLR) Men’s Welter -69kg
20:00 Badminton – Rachael Darragh (IRL) Vs Agnes Korosi (HUN) Women’s Singles
