The second edition of the European Games officially
opens in Minsk today. The Games run from the 21-30 June, and Team Ireland will
be represented by 63 athletes across nine sports, including many of the top
names in Irish sport, such as boxer Kellie Harrington, cyclist Ryan Mullen and
Canoe Sprint racer Jenny Egan.
Day one will be a quiet one for Ireland with Maeve
Reidy being the sole Irish representative, competing in Archery. Three boxing
events had originally been scheduled for the 21 June, but the strength and
talent of the Team Ireland boxers has bought them several byes to later rounds.
Speaking ahead of the event Performance Director for
boxing, Bernard Dunne, said,
“Everybody is happy. Preparations for this
competition have been superb. We trained in Belfast for a few weeks, it was
fantastic, and great preparation for our guys. We are ready, we are as prepared
as we can be. Now it’s just a matter of going out and fighting. Our guys are
eager to get in, we want to get some action. We have a couple of byes, but
eventually we are going to have to fight the best. It doesn’t matter if we
fight them tomorrow or in a few days time; we are ready and just want to show
our best. That’s what our guys want to do.”
Archery will see Reidy compete in the preliminary
rounds of the Women’s Recurve Individual at 11:15 Irish time. The results from
today will provide the seeding for the 1/32 Elimination Rounds on the 25 June
for the Dubliner.
Team Leader for Archery, Martin Cunningham explains
what to expect today,
“In the Preliminary Rounds archers shoot 72 arrows,
their score from these rounds will rank them one to forty eight, basically this
will then give them a seeding which will see them compete in brackets, like you
see in football or boxing. Archers then go head to head in five round matches,
where they shoot three arrows in each match. At the end of the match the winner
gets two points, loser gets zero points, and a draw gives you one point. The
first person who reaches six points goes through to the next round.”
The Opening Ceremony takes place in the Dinamo
Stadium tonight at 18:00 Irish time. Coverage of the European Games is on eir
Sport for the duration of the Games, with previews and interviews with the
Irish athletes featuring throughout the competition also.
The European Games take place in Minsk, Belarus,
from the 21 – 30 June, with athletes competing across nine sports, five of
which are part of the Tokyo 2020 qualification journey.
DAY
ONE SCHEDULE (IRISH TIME):
11:15 – Archery Maeve Reidy (Preliminary Rounds
Women’s Recurve Individual)
18:00 – Opening Ceremony
TEAM
IRELAND ATHLETES FROM CONNACHT
Boxing
Kieran Molloy Men’s
Welter -69kg Galway
Aoife O’Rourke Women’s Middle -75kg Roscommon
Cycling
Track
Lydia Gurley Galway
Gymnastics
Emma Slevin Women’s
All-Around Galway
SCHEDULE
FOR 22 JUNE (Irish Time)
Boxing
Kieran Molloy Men's
Welter -69kg 1pm (Irish Time) 1/8 Finals
