Michaela Walsh became Ireland's ninth boxer to exit the Olympics after losing by a unanimous decision to Bulgaria's Svetlana Staneva in the 57kg last 16 in Paris.
Only Kellie Harrington remains from the contingent of ten that travelled to the Paris Games following Walsh's disappointing display in the French capital.
Boxing in her second Olympics, featherweight Walsh was kept very quiet in the opening round by the European gold medal winner, whose long right jab kept the Belfast fighter at bay.
Both fighters were guilty of inactivity in that cagey first round, however, one real moment of quality from Staneva was enough to convince the judges as to who would take the verdict.
Walsh looked a bit more dynamic at the start of the second round, however, she soon ran out of ideas, and while both boxers scored with some clean shots, Staneva again with the more eye-catching efforts and won the round 4:1.
After losing the opening two rounds, Walsh really had to go after her opponent to attempt to cause a stoppage, however, Staneva reverted to type and boxed nicely off the back foot to select her shots and ease to the bell to ensure the unanimous victory.
An emotional Michaela Walsh admits she doesn't know what the future holds after her loss in her last-16 featherweight bout with Bulgaria's Svetlana Staneva#RTESport #Paris2024 #boxing
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 2, 2024
📺 Watch https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7
📱Updates https://t.co/18WgncFAEe pic.twitter.com/1lk68ru84F
Speaking after the fight, an emotional Walsh said she felt the fight had been closer than the score suggested.
She told RTÉ Sport: "It's always hard when you’re down in the first round, I heard it was 5-0. It was a very cagey first round.
"I thought I done a lot better in the second round, but it was 4-1 to her, and I thought I had a brilliant last round.
"I’m not the judge, at the end of the day I just go in and try to perform the best and unfortunately for me today was her day."
"It was a close fight and I don't think the score reflects that but I’m very happy with my performance."
Walsh admitted she doesn't know what lies ahead following the defeat.
"I've been in boxing a long, long time but I don’t know what the future holds," she said.
"I’m just so proud to be here with my brother [Aidan Walsh] and the rest of my teammates. I’ll push Kellie [Harrington] all the way to the final now and hopefully [she'll win] gold."
