Disappointment for Gráinne Walsh as she suffers defeat at Olympics

Gráinne Walsh's involvement at the Olympic Games ended this afternoon (Sunday), when she suffered a split decision defeat to Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori.

After Dean Clancy and Aidan Walsh were both defeated in their opening contests at the games yesterday and this morning, Gráinne was hoping to get the Irish boxing team up and running with its first win in her 'round of 32' contest.

It wasn't to be. Hamori made an aggressive start and shaded a scrappy opening round on the judges' cards, as the Offaly woman struggled to find her rhythm.

Walsh had a bit more success in the second round, and received a boost when Hamori's spoiling tactics resulted in her being deducted a point by the referee.

The local 28-year-old never fully got into her stride, however, and, although she landed some solid punches in a close contest, she also shipped some sharp blows from the younger Hungarian on a number of occasions.

Former boxer Eric Donovan, commentating for RTÉ, felt that Gráinne was "forcing it a bit," and with the Hungarian leading at the start of the third round it would have taken something special for Walsh to turn it around.

A good contingent of Irish supporters were cheering her at the Paris Nord arena, but Walsh looked crestfallen at the final bell, appearing to realise that the decision would be going against her.

And so it did, with four of the judges scoring the bout for Hamori, against one for Walsh.