Jennifer Lehane of Ireland celebrates after winning in Women's 54kg Quarterfinals against Hanna Lakotar of Hungary at the Paris 2024 Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament at Hua Mak Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Joe Walsh/Sportsfile It was a magic morning in the Indoor Stadium Hua Mak in Bangkok for Irish boxers Jenny Lehane and Gráinne Walsh who secured their tickets to the Paris Olympics. The pair produced dominant performances in their quota fights at bantamweight and welterweight respectively to increase Ireland’s boxing squad for the Paris Games to eight.
Later today Daina Moorehouse, Aidan Walsh and Martin McDonagh will aim to join them. Five of the team bound for Paris are females which underlined the growth and strength of Irish female boxing. Katie Taylor’s historic Olympic gold medal in London 12 years ago has had a profound impact on Irish sport.
Lehane, a primary school teacher from Ashbourne, left her job two years ago to focus on boxing and the 25-year-old is now a first-time Olympian. Walsh, from near Tullamore in County Offaly, has taken a circuitous route to the Olympics. A litany of hand injuries hampered her development.
She was singularly unlucky not to qualify at the first Olympics qualification tournament in Milan in March when she was the victim of a poor judging decision in her quota fight. But she stuck to her task and ignored all the controversy over her selection and the decision of Amy Broadhurst to switch to the UK squad. Ult.