European Silver for Mullingar’s John Donoghue
Talented Mullingar boxer John Donoghue will come home from the European U19 Championships in the Czech Republic with a richly deserved Silver medal, following his semi-final victory over Greece's Emmanouil Fotiadis.
Wednesday’s bout ended controversially, the Greek boxer disqualified after the first round. Following consultation with John, his club and his family, Team Ireland leadership made the very difficult decision to withdraw him from today’s final, cleary very keen to safeguard the Mullingar boxer’s wellbeing.
A Silver medal is a fine achievement for John Donoghue, secured after victory over a very tough opponent in Fotiadis, who was a European Junior champion. In garnering Silver, John has added to the World and European Junior medals he won at the end of last year.
The Olympic Boxing Club in Mullingar, of which John is a leading light, expressed delight in this latest success, though there is an understandable sense of injustice at not being able to participate in the final.
“Unfortunately, for John safety, his Irish coaches and his club coaches agreed that John won't be boxing in the final and it comes after advice from the doctor and medical team. We are extremely proud of his achievements. John is only 17 years old he is once again eligible next year to box in the U19s, which is such an exciting prospect,” a statement from the club read.
For John Donoghue, this is yet another noteworthy success and his reputation just keeps growing. Next year he will move to 70kg and he will be targeting European and World U19 championships, and the Youth Olympics. Knowing him and his great dedication, John will stay focused, learning all the time as he bids to qualify for the LA Olympic Games in three years time.
“I get the motivation from my coaches, who always advise me that these victories are just stepping stones to the elite level, which is where all boxers are aiming to get to. It’s about dedication and learning: I took only a short break for Christmas to prepare for these championships. I will stay focused and continue to work hard,” he said, speaking at the championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic.