Zaur Antia: Perfect preparation paved way for Irish feats in Poland

Team Ireland's head coach Zaur Antia was thrilled that all went to plan for his squad of boxers at the European Games as he immediately turned his thoughts towards next year's remaining qualification competitions for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Irish team returned from Poland with a host of Olympic spots assured, as well as a haul of five medals: including gold for Tokyo 2020 champion Kellie Harrington and Aoife O'Rourke, silver for heavyweight Jack Marley and bronze for Dean Clancy and Michaela Walsh.

All five boxers will compete for Ireland at next summer's Olympics in the French capital.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport's Shane Dawson at Dublin Airport as the squad returned, Antia, who is head boxing coach at the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) paid tribute to his team of coaches.

"We had great preparation, the competitions were very strong and we prepared as we competed. Fantastic preparations," he said.

"Absolutely the plan was in place, a very, very positive environment, good coaches, everybody was looking for improvements only.

"We created an excellent environment and a positive atmosphere with our manager and our coaches. They are always looking for improvement.

"That's why the result happened. All (the) boxers feel that all they have to think about is (their) performance. Performance first, everything else after. They had no time to have some negative thoughts."

Antia added that he was optimistic that the strong showing in Poland could be built on with the two remaining Olympic qualification tournaments that remain in the first half of next year.

Former world champion Amy Broadhurst was among seven Irish boxers who missed out on qualification in Poland after failing to reach the semi-finals.

"In our opinion, we should