Published: Wednesday, 24th February, 2010 4:58pm

Blaney takes silver medal in Germany

by Fergal Lynch

Christopher Blaney.
Pic by==: 97

Meath Chronicle / Cusack Hotels 2009 Young Sports Personality-of-the-year nominee Chris Blaney continued to make a major impression on the international boxing scene when he claimed a silver medal in the 69kg category at the 18-Nation Brandenburg Cup in Germany on Sunday morning.

The Kilberry boxer was edged out in the final by the host country's star fighter Denis Radovan, but the silver medal was a superb achievement.

Blaney who had been in exceptional form at the tournament was one of only two Irish fighters from the eight-man team to reach a final.

Greg Holmes lost out in the 54kg final.

Sunday morning's final was the end of a hectic week for Blaney who travelled to Germany on Monday of last week to take part in the European-wide tournament.

Blaney was drawn against Denis Kalos of the Czech Republic in the preliminary round and emerged victorious with a narrow 2-1 win to set up a quarter-final clash with Austrian Howig Grigorijan.

Blaney had to be on guard throughout and again he advanced to the last four with a narrow 2-1 victory.

Welterweight Blaney was drawn against Zhan Alimkhanuly from Kazakhstan and was trailing 6-8 when Alimkhanuly was disqualified in the second round after receiving two public warnings for low punches.

Securing his place in the final marked a great achievement for Blaney who will be travelling to Heidelberg, Germany next month to take part in a round robin tournament.

"Chris was delighted to feature in the medals in Germany and to reach the final was a great achievment," his father Neil told the Meath Chronicle.

"The Brandenburg Cup is as close to the European championships as you can get, so this was a great performance," he added.

The other Irish boxer, Holmes, was 3-0 up at one stage, but lost 5-10 to Kazak bantamweight Rusian Madiyev.

World junior champion Joe Ward and Stephen Tracey both earned bronze medals.

The medal haul maintains the IABA's remarkable sequence of having won medals at every international tournament since the 2007 AIBA World Senior Championships in Chicago.

Return to: Homepage | Sport Index | This article