Sligo boxer Dean Clancy won his opening preliminary round of the men’s flyweight at the Youth Olympic Games with a convincing defeat over Algerian Hichem Maouche, booking his place in the semi-finals.
"I’m over the moon, it’s great to get the first win out of the way," said Clancy post-fight.
"I’m filled with confidence from the crowd. I enjoyed every bit of it. The first round I was coming in establishing my jab, finding out the type of boxer he is, and from there on, I dominated with my jab, followed up with my backend.
"The crowds were amazing, I absolutely loved it! I’m into the semis now, he’s going to have a box off with England, I’ll be fighting the winner of that. Who knows, I could be fighting him again if he beats England, but you never know."
Dearbhla Rooney qualified for the Women’s Feather (54-57kg) last four after a dominant win over Roma Linda Martinez from the USA.
Manorhamilton’s Rooney had not met the American fighter previously and was relieved to progress.
"I’m absolutely delighted with it," she said. "I was happy with how I fought so first fight is always tough, you want to get it out of the way and get warmed up for the next one."
She hadn’t fought the American fighter before and saw her as a dark horse before the fight, but the Irish featherweight had nothing to worry about, moving through to the semis with a unanimous victory.
In the next round Rooney will face Panpatchara Somnuek from Thailand, the boxer who forced her out of the World Youth Championships earlier this year in a split decision.
Both Rooney and Clancy are back in the ring tomorrow.
Lauren Kelly was beaten by the number one seed, World and European Champion Anastasiia Shamanova (Russia), in the women’s middleweight quarter-finals.
The Kildare based boxer put in a valiant effort against the Russian, who has been unbeaten for six years.
In athletics Sophie Meredith finished tenth in the women’s long jump following the second stage, with a jump of 5.78m securing a top ten finish.
In golf, Lauren Crowley Walsh and David Kitt are lying T5 at -5 going into Monday's cumulative play in the mixed teams, just three shots off a medal.
