IRELAND boxer Aidan Walsh has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming semi-final bout after injuring himself while celebrating his victory in the previous round.
He was due to face Britain's Pat McCormack in Sunday’s welterweight semi-final but sustained an ankle injury in the frenzied aftermath of his quarter-final win over Merven Clair of Mauritius.
The decision to withdraw was made in conjunction with Walsh's medical team after scans revealed the extent of the damage to his ankle, according to RTÉ.
"I'm not 100% sure when it happened," said Team Ireland's boxing performance director Bernard Dunne.
"As Aidan came out of the ring, he said he felt a bit sore in his ankle. From there we started to monitor it and give him opportunity that we possibly could to compete.
"We gave him till the last second today before that final decision was made."
Walsh will still receive a Bronze medal though, which was guaranteed after winning the quarter-final, becoming the 16th Irish boxer to win a medal at the Olympics.
Despite the unfortunate manner of his withdrawal, Dunne praised Walsh for an "outstanding" performance in the competition.
"What Aidan did this week is an incredible achievement," he said.
"His performance throughout the tournament has been outstanding. And it is great to see him write his name in the annals of Irish sport.
"Just over two years ago we selected Aidan for his first major championship, and over the past few months that potential that we had identified has grown and developed into a world class performance, that reflects greatly on the level of preparation he has put in ahead of these Games."
See More: Aidan Walsh, Boxing, Ireland, Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020
