AOIFE O’ROURKE WILL travel home to Roscommon from the European Women’s Elite Championships in Madrid with at least a bronze medal after a unanimous decision win over Ukraine’s Tetiana Petrovich this afternoon.
Fighting at middleweight, O’Rourke’s victory was commanding with the final scorecards reading 30-24, 30-24, 30-25, 30-25, 30-25. Petrovich’s score was exacerbated by an official warning for holding in the second round.
She will now face Russia’s Youth Olympic champion Anastasia Shamonova for a place in the finals on Friday. Whatever its colour, O’Rourke’s medal will be Ireland’s 11th at these championships since their inauguration in 2002.
Elsewhere today, there were contrasting fortunes for Amy Broadhurst and Ceire Smith at the last 16 phase.
Dundalk lightweight Broadhurst progressed to the last eight with a unanimous decision over Czech fighter Dominika Ciklova, while flyweight Ceire Smith lost to the top seed, Turkey’s Naz Buse Cakiroglu.
Smith lost out on a unanimous decision, whole Broadhurst may yet meet Mira Potkonen of Finland, infamous in Irish circles for beating Katie Taylor at the 2016 Olympics. Potkonen edged a split decision against England’s Paige Murney to qualify for the quarter-finals.
