Irish 2012 Olympian Paddy Barnes, Adam Nolan and Tommy
McCarthy will be back between the ropes tomorrow (April 20th) competing for
places in the light-flyweight, welterweight and heavyweight finals at the AIBA
European Olympic qualifiers in Trabzon, Turkey.
Boxing begins at 12 noon in the afternoon session and 4pm in the
evening sesssion (Irish times).
Eight Olympic places - one of which went to Paddy Barnes - have
already been secured in the light-flyweight and lightweight classes. The
remaining 14 Olympic places will be distributed over the course of the
semi-finals and finals.
Bray BC southpaw Nolan, the current Irish Elite champion,
meets Romanian National champion Ionut Gheorghe for a place at the 2012 Olympic
Games in the welterweight class.
The top two boxers in the welterweight category in Trabzon
qualify for the 30th Olympiad.
Gheorghe is no stranger to meeting Irish pugilists in Olympic
qualifying events as he met, and beat, John Joe Joyce, who Nolan beat in the
2012 Irish Elite final, at the penultimate Olympic qualifier for
Europe in Pescara, Italy in 2008.
Enniscorthy-native Nolan, who works as a Garda (police
officer), and Gheorghe, took part in the recent Chemistry Cup in Germany but
avoided each other in the draw. Gheorghe reached the quarter-finals, while Nolan
made the semi-finals to claim bronze.
Nolan is also guaranteed bronze in Trabzon. However, if he
can change the colour of that medal to at least silver he will be wearing the
Irish welterweight vest at London 2012.
"If I get in and do what I'm good at I'm in there with a
chance. I knew that if I got a reasonable draw I was always in there with a
fighting chance," said Nolan, a team-mate of World number one Katie Taylor at
the Bray BC.
Current Irish Elite champion Tommy McCarthy, a bronze medal
winner at the 2008 AIBA World Youth Championships in Mexico, has to go all the
way in Trabzon and win gold as there is only one Olympic quota place available
for Europe in the 91kg class.
McCarthy, who boxes out of the Oliver Plunkett BC in Belfast,
will trade leather with experienced Moldovan heavyweight Vladimir Cheles on
Friday.
Cheles is a regular on the international senior circuit and
has a CV stretching back to 2007. However, he has only recently moved up to
heavyweight from light-heavyweight.
Two years ago he narrowly beat Ken Egan in the last-16 of the
Prime Ministry Cup in Turkey.
If McCarthy gets past Cheles he will face either Marko Calic
(Croatia) or Tervel Pulev (Bulgaria) on Saturday for a place at the 2012 Olympic
Games.
Paddy Barnes faces Ferhat Pehlivan in the 49kg semi-final.
Both boxers qualified for the 2012 Olympics by virtue of reaching the last-four
in Trabzon as there were four Olympic berths up for grabs in the light flyweight
class.
Barnes, the 2010 European champion, was actually slated to
meet Pehlivan in the 2009 Ahmet Cömert Cup final in Istanbul, Turkey in 2009,
but the Irish Elite champion withdrew because of injury and Pehlivan received a
walkover.
The Ulsterman qualified for his second Olympic this week over
four years after he booked his ticket for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where he
won bronze, at the 2007 AIBA World Championships in Chicago.
Barnes joins Darren O'Neill and John Joe Nevin - who was on
the Irish 2008 Olympic squad along with Barnes, John Joe Joyce, Ken Egan and the
late Darren Sutherland - and Michael Conlan on the Irish team for London
2012.
Conlan, O'Neill and Nevin qualified for the 2012 Olympics
after reaching the quarter-finals at the 2011 AIBA World Championships in Baku,
Azerbaijan.
Nevin went one better and won bronze in Baku after making the
semi-finals, an achievement that saw him become the first Irish male boxer to
win two medals - he secured bronze at the 2009 AIBA World Championships in Milan
- at World Championship level.
Poignantly, Barnes, a gold medal winner for Northern Ireland
at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, dedicated his achievement in reaching his second
Olympics to the memory of his former Irish team-mate and fellow 2008 Olympic
medalist Darren Sutherland, who died tragically in September,
2009.
“I was always confident that I would reach the Olympic Games.
There was never any doubt in my mind that I would get there; it was just a
matter of getting the job done, he said.
“It was special too that it happened on the day of what would
have been Darren Sutherland’s 30th birthday, and I am proud to dedicate this
victory and achievement to him.
“Darren and I were close friends and I miss him still. He is
always with the Irish team.”
Ireland's opponents in Turkey (profiles)
49Kg: Ferhat Pehlivan (Turkey) v Paddy Barnes
(Ireland)
Ferhat Pehlivan
Date Of Birth : 20/08/1988
Club : Trabzonspor
2012 – Chemistry Cup (Halle, GER) 6th place – 49KG Lost to
Hamza Touba (GER) 9:5 in the quarter-final
2012 – Strandja Memorial Tournament (Pazardjik, BUL) 9th
place – 49KG Lost to Yosvany Veitia (CUB) 14:5 in the firts preliminary round
2011 – Turkish National Championships 1st place – 49KG Won
against Samet Celiksoy (TUR) by points in the final; Won against Recep Togoz
(TUR) by points in the semi-final; Won against Arif Akdeniz (TUR) by points in
the quarter-final
2011 – AIBA World Championships (Baku, AZE) participant –
49KG Lost to Carlos Quipo (ECU) 17:10 in the second preliminary round; Won
against Eduard Bermudez (VEN) 9+:9 in the first preliminary round
2011 – European Championships (Ankara, TUR) 6th place – 49KG
Lost to Belik Galanov (RUS) 14:10 in the quarter-final; Won against Avtandil
Chubabria (GEO) 14:6 in the first preliminary round
2011 – GER-TUR Dual Match – 49KG Won against Andre Stoika
(GER) 13:5
2011 – Feliks Stamm Tournament (Warsaw, POL) 1st place – 49KG
Won against Jeremy Beccu (FRA) 7:4 in the final; Won against Lukasz Maszczyk
(POL) 10:4 in the semifinal
2011 – Great Silk Road Tournament (Baku, AZE) 1st place –
49KG Won against Elvin Mamishzade (AZE) WO in the final; Won against Salman
Alizada (AZE) 7:0 in the semifinal; Won against Erdal Inanli (TUR) 2:0 in the
quarterfinal
2010 – Turkish National Championships 3rd place – 49KG Lost
to Aydin Sakal (TUR) 2:1 in the semifinal; Won against Sedat Demir (TUR) 5:1 in
the quarterfinal
2010 – World University Championships (Ulanbaatar, MGL) 3rd
place – 49KG Lost to Mardan Berikbayev (KAZ) 2:0 in the semifinal
2010 – European Championships (Moscow, RUS) 7th place – 48KG
Lost to Jose Kelvin De La Nieve (ESP) 2:1 in the quarterfinal; Won against
Sergey Loban (BLR) 6:3 in the first preliminary round
2010 – Turkish Prime Ministry Tournament (Ankara, TUR) 1st
place – 48KG Won against Belik Galanov (RUS) 5:0 in the final; Won against
Mardan Berikbayev (KAZ) 3:1 in the semifinal; Won against Li Jiazhao (CHN) 5:1
in the quarterfinal
2009 – European Students Championships (Elista, RUS) 2nd
place – 48KG Lost to Viktor Vereshchagin (RUS) 6:2 in the final; Won against
Denis Kozaruk (UKR) 2:1 in the semifinal
2009 – AIBA World Championships (Milan, ITA) participant –
48KG Lost to David Ayrapetyan (RUS) 7:2 in the second preliminary round; Won
against Aleksan Chechelyan (GEO) 11:2 in the first preliminary round
2009 – Mediterranean Games (Pescara, ITA) 3rd place – 48KG
Lost to José Kelvin De La Nieve (ESP) 1+:1 in the semifinal
2009 – International 2 Nations Tournament (Odessa, UKR) 1st
place – 48KG
2009 – Ahmet Cömert Tournament (Istanbul, TUR) 1st place –
48KG Won against Patrick Barnes (IRL) WO in the final; Won against Masoud Rigi
(IRN) RSC 3rd round in the semifinal
2009 – Strandja Tournament (Plovdiv, BUL) 2nd place – 48KG
Lost to David Ayrapetyan (RUS) 4:2 in the final; Won against Hayder Warda (SYR)
3:0 in the semifinal
2008 – Turkey Senior National Champs 1st place – 48KG
2008 – European Senior Championships (Liverpool, ENG) 3rd
place – 48KG Lost to José Kelvin de la Nieve (ESP) 6+:6 in the semifinal; Won
against Sergey Kazakov (RUS) 2:1 in the quarterfinal
2008 – World University Championships (Kazan, RUS) 3rd place
– 48KG Lost to Lenar Fayzeriyev (RUS) 7:3 in the semifinal
2008 – Ahmet Cömert Tournament
69kg: Ionut Gheorghe (Romania) v Adam Nolan
(Ireland)
Ionut Gheorghe
Date Of Birth : 29/02/1984
Club : CS Farul Constanta
2012 – Romanian National Cup 1st place – 69KG Won against
Flavius Biea (ROM) by points in the final
2012 – Chemistry Cup (Halle, GER) 7th place – 69KG Lost to
Patrick Wojcicki (GER) 15:6 in the quarter-final; Won against Danilo Creati
(ITA) 19:8 in the first preliminary round
2011 – AIBA World Championships (Baku, AZE) participant –
69KG Lost to Vasile Belous (MDA) 15:9 in the second preliminary round; Won
against Nodirbek Kosimov (UZB) 23:17 in the first preliminary round
2011 – European Championships (Ankara, TUR) 6th place – 69KG
Lost to Magomed Nurudinov (BLR) 21:12 in the quarter-final; Won against Isaac
Real (ESP) 24:6 in the second preliminary round; Won against Konstantin Snigour
(ISR) 17:12 in the first preliminary round
2011 – Hakija Turajlic Memorial Tournament (Sarajevo, BIH)
1st place – 69KG Won against Flavius Biea (ROM) 4+:4 in the final; Won against
Abdulrahman Al-Hadi (QAT) 7:3 in the semifinal; Won against Bojan Ristevski
(MKD) RSC 2nd round in the quarterfinal
2010 – Romanian National Championships 1st place – 69KG Won
against Catalin Paraschiveanu (ROM) 10:2 in the final; Won against Calin Botean
(ROM) 12:1 in the semifinal
2010 – European Championships (Moscow, RUS) 5th place – 69KG
Lost to Balazs Bacskai (HUN) RSCI 2nd round in the quarterfinal; Won against
Torben Keller (DEN) 3:1 in the second preliminary round; Won against Sadig
Eynullayev (AZE) 9:7 in the first preliminary round
2009 – Romanian National Championships 2nd place – 64KG Lost
to Traian Lupu (ROM) 4:3 in the final; Won against Georgian Nyeki (ROM) 14:5 in
the semifinal
2008 – European Senior Championships (Liverpool, ENG)
participant – 64KG Lost to Yevgeniy Romashkevich (BLR) 9:4 in the first
preliminary round
2008 – Grand Prix Ostrava (Ostrava, CZE) 7th place – 69KG
Lost to Balazs Bacskai (HUN) RSCI 2nd round in the quarterfinal
2008 – XXIXth Summer Olympic Games (Beijing, CHN) participant
– 64KG Lost to Morteza Sepahvandi (IRN) 8:4 in the second preliminary round; Won
against Jonathan Gonzalez (PUR) 21:4 in the first preliminary round
2008 – Romania Senior National Champs 1st place – 64KG Won
against Traian Lupu (ROM) 26:6 in the final
2008 – 1st European Olympic Qualification Tournament
(Pescara, ITA) 2nd place – 64KG Lost to Gyula Kate (HUN) WO in the
final; Won against John Joe
Joyce (IRL) 25:20 in the semifinal; Won against Martin Dressen (GER) 23:13 in
the quarterfinal; Won against Mariusz Koperski (POL) 18:12 in the first round
2008 – Romania National Cup 1st place – 64KG
91kg: Vladimir Cheles (Moldova) v Tommy McCarthy
(Ireland)
Vladimir Cheles
Date Of Birth : 11/12/1988
Residence : Tiraspol
2012 – World Series of Boxing 7th Round – 85KG Won against
Leonid Charnabayev (BLR) by points
2011 – AIBA World Championships (Baku, AZE) participant –
81KG Lost to Adilbek Niyazimbetov (KAZ) 16:11 in the first preliminary round
2011 – European Championships (Ankara, TUR) participant –
81KG Lost to Dmitro Bulgakov (UKR) 12+:12 in the second preliminary round; Won
against Cezar Juratoni (ROM) 21:9 in the first preliminary round
2011 – Korotkov Memorial Tournament (Khabarovsk, RUS) 1st
place – 81KG Won against Enver Tuktarov (UKR) 9:1 in the final; Won against Imre
Szello (HUN) 5:0 in the semifinal; Won against Sadulai Abdulai (GER) 4:1 in the
quarterfinal
2011 – Nikolay Manger Memorial Tournament (Kherson, UKR) 7th
place – 81KG Sultanbek Danayev (KAZ) 11:6 in the quarterfinal; Won against
Oleksandr Babanov (UKR) 16:9 in the first preliminary round
2010 – Moldovan National Championships 1st place – 81KG Won
against Mihai Cationov (MDA) 4:2 in the final; Won against Nicolae Cristev (MDA)
by points in the semifinal
2010 – World University Championships (Ulanbaatar, MGL) 5th
place – 81KG Lost to Ruslan Faifer (RUS) 6:2 in the quarterfinal
2010 – European Championships (Moscow, RUS) participant –
81KG Lost to Abdelkader Bouhenia (FRA) 10:1 in the first preliminary round
2010 – Nikolay Manger Memorial Tournament (Kherson, UKR) 5th
place – 81KG Lost to Almat Serimov (KAZ) 7:4 in the quarterfinal
2010 – Turkish Prime Ministry Tournament (Ankara, TUR) 3rd
place – 81KG Lost to Oleksandr Gvozdik (UKR) 9:1 in the semifinal; Won against
Obed Mbwakongo (ENG) 5:2 in the quarterfinal; Won against Kenneth Egan (IRL) 1:0
in the first preliminary round
2010 – Kapitonov & Kuzin Memorial Tournament (Lyubertsy,
RUS) 6th place – 81KG Lost to Konstantin Biryukov (RUS) 8:4 in the quarterfinal
2009 – European Students Championships (Elista, RUS) 3rd
place – 81KG Lost to Ali Musayev (RUS) 6:3 in the semifinal; Won against Pyotr
Yegorov (RUS) 13:4 in the quarterfinal
2009 – AIBA World Championships (Milan, ITA) participant –
81KG Lost to Abdelhafid Benchebla (ALG) 20:11 in the first preliminary round
2009 – Makar Mazay Tournament (Mariupol, UKR) 5th place –
81KG Lost to Oleksandr Gvozdik (UKR) 11:1 in the quarterfinal
2009 – Grand Prix Usti nad Labem (Usti nad Labem, CZE) 7th
place – 81KG Lost to Steve Lovett (AUS) 8:4 in the quarterfinal
2009 – Ahmet Cömert Tournament (Istanbul, TUR) participant –
81KG Lost to Haydar Ali Guney (TUR) 9:7 in the first round
2009 – Feliks Stamm Tournament (Warsaw, POL) 3rd place – 81KG
Lost to Krzysztof Sadlon (POL) 5:3 in the semifinal; Won against Stanislav
Starek (CZE) 3:2 in the quarterfinal
2009 – Pavel Luscevschi Memorial Tournament (Grimancautsi,
MDA) 1st place – 81KG Won against Vitaliy Merinov (UKR) 3:2 in the final
2008 – AIBA World Cup (Moscow, RUS) 5th place – 81KG Lost to
Artur Beterbiyev (RUS) 5:1 in the quarterfinal
2008 – Shustov&Dadiani Memorial Tournament (Tiraspol,
MDA) 1st place – 81KG
2008 – European Senior Championships (Liverpool, ENG)
participant – 81KG Lost to Bahram Muzaffer (TUR) 7:3 in the second preliminary
round; Won against Jan Onda (SVK) 10:5 in the first preliminary round
2008 – Moldova Senior National Champs 1st place – 81KG Won
against Andrei Sara (MDA) by points in the final
2008 – Bocskai Tournament (Debrecen, HUN) 7th place – 75KG
Lost to Daniel Regi (HUN) 15:6 in the quarterfinal
2007 – Moldova Senior National Champs 1st place – 75KG
2007 – Popenchenko Memorial Tournament (Moscow, RUS) 7th
place – 75KG Lost to Maksim Makarichev (RUS) 20:6 in the quarterfinal
AIBA European Olympic Qualifiers Trabzon,
Turkey
April 15th (Evening) (last 32)
60kg: David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) beat Joe Cordina (Wales)
RET3
81kg: Joe Ward (Ireland) beat Kennedy Katende (Sweden)
16-6
April 16th (Afternoon) (last 16)
64kg: Ross Hickey (Ireland) lost to Dimitri Galagot (Moldova)
11-24
69kg: Adam Nolan (Ireland) beat Thomasz Kot (Poland)
14-9
April 16th (Evening) (last 16)
81kg: Joe Ward (Ireland) lost to Bahran Muzaffer (Turkey)
15-18 (result was the subject of a protest by IABA)
91kg: Tommy McCarthy (Ireland) beat Copla Alem (Bosnia &
Herzegovina) 12-3
91+kg: Con Sheehan (Ireland) lost to Muhammet Erkan Aci
(Turkey) 12-17
April 18th (Afternoon) Quarter-finals
49kg: Paddy Barnes (Ireland) beat Stefan Caslarov (Romania)
17-9
60kg: David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) lost to Evaldas Petrauskas
(Lithuania)10-19
69kg: Adam Nolan (Ireland) beat Tamerlan Abdullayev
(Azerbaijan) 17-13
91kg: Tommy McCarthy (Ireland) beat Josepf Darmos (Hungary)
16-7
April 20th (Semi-finals)
49kg: Paddy Barnes (Ireland) v Ferhat Pehlivan
(Turkey)
69kg: Adam Nolan (Ireland) v Ionut Gheorghe
(Romania)
91kg: Tommy McCarthy (Ireland) v Vladimir Cheles
(Moldova)
Irish squad
49kg: Paddy Barnes (Holy Family GG)
60kg; David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s
Athy)
64kg: Ross Hickey (Grangecon)
69kg: Adam Nolan (Bray)
81kg: Joe Ward (Moate)
91kg: Tommy McCarthy (Oliver Plunkett)
91+kg: Con Sheehan (Clonmel)
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