Darren O’Neill’s Olympic dreams dashed in Baku defeat

Captain of the Irish boxing squad in London four years ago - Darren O'Neill failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics at the last time of asking in Baku on Monday.

The Kilkenny boxer was beaten by Wesley Aochi from Nigeria on a unanimous decision in the last 16 of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Baku - where middleweight Michael O'Reilly edged a step closer to securing a place at the upcoming games.

The number one seed beat Vitalia Dandarendka from Belarus by unanimous decision to advance to the last 16. He needs a top five to secure a slot in the 75kg weight division in Rio - so he needs to navigate his way into the semi-finals.

Both he and Ireland’s only other remaining boxer in the tournament, surper-heavyweight Dean Gardiner, are in action again on Tuesday. Gardiner faces Ukraine’s Viktor Vychryst in the quarter-finals.

The ongoing tournament in Baku is the last opportunity for amateur-only boxers to qualify for Rio, but Mayo’s Ray Moylette is eligible to compete at a “professional” qualifier in Venezuela next month thanks to his experience in the WSB semi-pro competition.