Baku blues for Blaney

Christopher Blaney's adventures in the AIBA World Youth Championships in Baku came to an end when he was defeated by Brazilian David Laurencio da Costa in the quarter-finals on Friday. The Navan boxer had defeated opponents from Zambia, Ecuador and South Korea to ensure his place in the quater-finals however, he found the Brazilian difficult to subdue and went out of the competition. Despite the setback, Blaney could yet qualify for a place in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in August as it is understood that each country who took part in the World championships may have boxers invited to the Games although that has to be confirmed. Blaney was due to be back in Ireland early this week after almost a month in Azerbaijan. He had travelled as part of the Irish squad to Baku to prepare for the championships which were delayed for a couple of days because of the disruption to air traffic due to volcanic ash clouds. According to Christopher Blaney's father, Neil, who travelled out to Azerbaijan for the championships, the experience gained by his son will be a help to him in the future. "Christopher was looking forward to coming home and despite the defeat to the Brazilian the experience was great," he told the Meath Chronicle. "The sparing will help him while the facilities over there were very good. "There's still a chance for Christopher to go to the Youth Olympics," he added. Joe Ward and Ryan Burnett were the only two Irish boxers to advance to the finals of the championships in their respective categories.