CORK WELTERWEIGHT CHRISTINA Desmond made light work of Dutch foe Leonie Anna van Leeuwen in their welterweight (69kg) last-16 tie at the European Championships in Madrid on Tuesday afternoon.
The heavy-handed Fr. Horgan’s BC talent, who is the reigning Irish Senior Elite champion in her new division (Desmond previously operated at 75kg — middleweight — where she won European bronze in 2016), forced a standing count of Van Leeuwen and was awarded a lopsided unanimous decision on scores of 30-24×3, 30-25 and 30-26.
A former World Youth finalist, Desmond deployed her backhand to devastating effect against her Dutch adversary in Madrid: Van Leeuwen took a standing count from a combination in the final round, and had eaten more than her fill to that point.
The 23-year-old Cill na Martra native will face Russian no.2 seed Darima Sandakova in the last eight on Wednesday, where victory would secure her second European bronze at the very least.
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That will be the second of an Ireland v Russia last-eight doubleheader, with Dundalk’s Amy Broadhurst — fighting in the injured Kellie Harrington’s lightweight division — squaring off against Anastasia Belokova in another quarter-final on Wednesday.
Ireland sent only four women to this year’s Championships. Cavan flyweight Céire Smith lost out in her last-16 tie versus Turkish top seed Naz Buse Cakiroglu on Monday, but Roscommon middleweight Aoife O’Rourke has already sealed Ireland’s first medal of the tournament and will fight her semi-final versus another Russian — Anastasia Shamonova — on Friday.
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Cork's Desmond pummels Dutch opponent to reach European quarters
CORK WELTERWEIGHT CHRISTINA Desmond made light work of Dutch foe Leonie Anna van Leeuwen in their welterweight (69kg) last-16 tie at the European Championships in Madrid on Tuesday afternoon.
The heavy-handed Fr. Horgan’s BC talent, who is the reigning Irish Senior Elite champion in her new division (Desmond previously operated at 75kg — middleweight — where she won European bronze in 2016), forced a standing count of Van Leeuwen and was awarded a lopsided unanimous decision on scores of 30-24×3, 30-25 and 30-26.
A former World Youth finalist, Desmond deployed her backhand to devastating effect against her Dutch adversary in Madrid: Van Leeuwen took a standing count from a combination in the final round, and had eaten more than her fill to that point.
The 23-year-old Cill na Martra native will face Russian no.2 seed Darima Sandakova in the last eight on Wednesday, where victory would secure her second European bronze at the very least.
That will be the second of an Ireland v Russia last-eight doubleheader, with Dundalk’s Amy Broadhurst — fighting in the injured Kellie Harrington’s lightweight division — squaring off against Anastasia Belokova in another quarter-final on Wednesday.
Ireland sent only four women to this year’s Championships. Cavan flyweight Céire Smith lost out in her last-16 tie versus Turkish top seed Naz Buse Cakiroglu on Monday, but Roscommon middleweight Aoife O’Rourke has already sealed Ireland’s first medal of the tournament and will fight her semi-final versus another Russian — Anastasia Shamonova — on Friday.
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