Three Irish kickboxers have advanced to finals at the European Games in Poland.
Nathan Tait became the first Irish fighter to reach a final, in the Point Fighting 74kg class, defeating his Swiss opponent, to book his place in Sunday's final
His teammate Amy Wall will also contest the Women’s Full Contact 60kg final on Sunday after a comprehensive 3-0 win over Poland’s Kinga Szlachcic.
Conor McGlinchey was the third of the Irish to reach the finals with a last gasp win over his Italian opponent in the 84kg Point Fighting.
Meanwhile, Tallaght’s Jodie Brown was narrowly beaten by a Slovenian fighter in her Point Fighting (60kg) semi-final and so leaves these European Games with a bronze medal.
Tait got semi-finals day at the Myslenice Sports Arena under way with an emphatic win in the Men’s Point Fighting 74kg.
Tait, who had received a bye through the quarterfinals, won a closely fought first round 4-2. The Kildare man impressed in the second round outscoring his Swiss opponent; Danylo Mancari 6-1, and with an equal scoring third round (3-3), Tait was declared the winner 13-6 and will now contest the gold medal match tomorrow.
Speaking after the fight Tait said “The first round we said before we started that we would go out and we would feel him out. We had a game plan set from last night, we executed it perfectly. The coaches have done and amazing job all week, everybody has, everybody has been part of this thing. Everyone on this team is fighting amazing, we still have four more fighters going for the final.
“My game plan was to be really relaxed, really patient. I was telling myself to slow down, if I rush I know I lose scores, if I take my time I knew I was in control. There’s nothing to rush about.”
Wall followed up with a dominant win in her Full Contact 60kg semi-final and will also fight for gold on Sunday. The Bray schoolteacher, who has won an impressive three World WAKO titles, won the first and second rounds, and following a drawn third round was awarded the win by all three judges against her Polish opponent Kinga Szlachcic.
A delighted Wall commented; “I can’t believe it; a really tough fight, I’m really happy to be in the final, I can’t wait for tomorrow and see how it goes. I’m buzzing. I knew that girl was a good boxer, so I knew I had to be careful, so tried timing her lead leg and just coming over the top, and every time I did that it worked, so the game plan was a success. That was my game plan going into it, and I could see it more as the rounds went on that the side kick was there, so I just went over the time. Most of the time it worked, I’m delighted.’
Continuing the winning streak, McGlinchey also came out on top in an epic battle with Italy’s Riccardo Albanese to progress to the gold medal fight in the Men’s Point Fighting 854kg.
McGlinchey was in control for the first two rounds, winning 7-4, and 6-5. His Italian opponent came out fighting in the third though, levelling the fight at 18-18 in the dying seconds. A backfist from McGlinchey in the last second ultimately gave the Kildare man the narrowest of victories 19-18.
Speaking after the fight the 23-year-old said “I made tight work of it as usual. Ricardo is a top-level fighter, in any weight division. I knew this was going to be a tough one. We fought three times now. He beat me in the Europeans a few years ago, I beat him in the Europeans last year, I’m glad to come out on top in that trilogy. This means everything. It’s twenty years of sacrifice, dedication and hard work. On your own half the time, and it finally pays off in moments like that. Especially with those Olympic rings on your shoulder, it’s special.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s final McGlinchey said “I’m not done yet, I’ve my old friend Peters (of Germany) so that will be tomorrow. We will put a game plan together, and get it done. It’s a case of bringing it back to the club, keeping the head, keeping the focus when someone else isn’t, and capitalising on it”.
Tallaght’s Jodie Brown came agonisingly close to the 70kg Point Fighting final, losing out 11-9 to Slovenia’s Tina Baloh. Brown was down after the first two rounds 5-6, and with 75 seconds remaining levelled the score at 7-7, then went ahead 8-7 with 50 seconds to go, but Baloh brought it back to 8-8 before scoring a final point in the closing seconds to win 8-9.
Commenting after the fight Brown said “I really wanted a gold, I worked hard enough to get the gold, my performance today was really good, but it wasn’t good enough.”
On her opponent Brown said “We might as well be best friends at this stage, we fight each other every time. She’s a good fighter to lose to. Obviously, I really wanted it but it just wasn’t my day. There was four points going into the second round, and I came back, and then she kicked me in the head in the last fifteen seconds, it’s hard to get two points with fifteen seconds left. It’s too hard.”
The 20-year-old will leave her first European Games with a Bronze medal and has enjoyed the experience, saying “The organisation, the fans, you can hear them screaming in your ear. It’s unbelievable, it’s such an overwhelming experience. I’m happy to secure my medal anyway. I would have wanted gold, but I’m happy to come away with bronze.”
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