(AUG 28) Dundalk lightweight Amy ‘Canelo’ Broadhurst burst into tears of joy after stunning a World champion at the European Women's Elites in Madrid today.

Earlier this week Castlerea, Roscommon’s Aoife O’Rourke reached the last four with a resounding win over one of the favourites, Tetiana Petrovich (Ukraine) 5-0. 

She’ll now meet Russia’s Youth Olympic champion Anastasia Shamonova for a place in the finals on Friday.

The Russian is tipped to following in the footsteps of Sofya Ochigava who lost in the final of the 2012 Olympic Games in London to Bray’s Katie Taylor.

Shamonova was a sensation as a junior and youth boxer and currently is gold medallist at AIBA U22 level as well.

She followed that up with a Gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. There the Russian met with France’s AIBA Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships silver medallist Tallya Brillaux which was a repeat final of the Budapest U22 event . So O’Rourke faces a huge challenge but has been in excellent form on the Irish and International scene in the last two years.

O’Rourke and Broadhurst’s podium finish guarantees Irish boxing a twelfth medal at the European Women’s Elites since the inaugural tournament in 2002, six of which were Gold medals won by Taylor. It is though particularly disappointing that having only sent three boxers to last year’s event in Bulgaria, this time only four went.

Many in Irish boxing circles, including some high ranking officials and coaches as well las clubs , are astonished that with a successful youth and junior set up, the HPU team did not avail themselves of the opportunity of giving invaluable International experience to at least another three or four.

Only by gaining such experience at this level can they hope to compete at future major events like the AIBA World’s in Russia and the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers. It is worth noting of course that Ireland’s AIBA World champion Kellie Harrington is not in Madrid having not yet fully recovered from the hand injury that caused her to withdraw from the European Games final against Potkonen. The fact that her ‘replacement’ young Broadhurst has now medalled is proof if any is needed that youth should be given its chance.

She is guaranteed at least bronze at the tournament after racking up a unanimous decision - 30-27 x 3 and 29-28 x 2 - against Russia's 2014 World Elite champion and Rio 2016 bronze medallist Anastasia Beliakova.

" A phenomenal performance," said Irish team manager JP Kinsella.

Broadhurst went about her business with zip and energy - and with the look of a woman who was not going to be denied - from the opening bell and took the first round across the board. The pick of her punches was a short-range left which rocked her vaunted opponent.

The second was close but Broadhurst, working from the body to head on a few occasions, detonated the clearer and more solid shots and the Irishwomen was again in the ascendency in the latter half of the third round ‘en route’ to a career-best victory.

She's now meet an old friend of Irish boxing, Finland's Mira Potkonen, in the semi-finals on Friday. Potkonen beat current unified Pro champion Katie Taylor in the quarter-finals of the Rio Olympics in Taylor's last amateur fight.

Thursday is a rest day at the tournament. The semi-finals and finals will be decided on Friday and Saturday.

We will bring you a review of the weekend’s finals early in the coming week.