Brilliant display sees Gráinne Walsh come from behind to win first Olympic qualifier

Displaying grit, determination and no little skill, Tullamore boxer Gráinne Walsh came from behind to win her first Olympic qualifier bout in Italy this morning (Friday).

The victory means Walsh is through to the round of 16 at the Olympic qualification tournament taking place near Milan. She now needs two more victories, tomorrow and on Monday, in order to secure a place on the plane to Paris.

Facing German opponent Stefanie Von Berge, Walsh lost the opening round on four of the five judge's scorecards this morning, leaving her with an uphill battle to keep her Olympic dream alive.

A brilliant second round from the Offaly woman, in which she took the fight to Von Berge and rattled off some excellent combination punches, put her back in contention on the judges' cards.

It then came down to a hard-fought final round in which Walsh would not be denied, showing tremendous resolve once again to land some big punches.

As the decision was being announced, both boxers had their fists up, ready to celebrate, but the verdict was in Walsh's favour on a 3-2 split.

One of the judges gave all three rounds to the Offaly woman, while the other four were evenly divided between Walsh and Von Berge.

The win means that Walsh will now face Kenya's Friza Anyango Asiko in the round of 16 at the Olympic qualifier tournament tomorrow (Saturday) evening.

The winner of tomorrow's contest will then box in the quarter finals on Monday, knowing that victory at the quarter final stage will book their place at the Olympic Games this summer.

Speaking to Irish News reporter Neil Loughran, Walsh gave her reaction to today's win: