SPORTS DIGEST:BOXING: Irelands World lightweight champion Katie Taylor cruised into the last eight of the 32- nation Prime Ministry Tournament in Ankara, Turkey with an 11-2 last 16 win over Germany's Tansheena Buger last night.
But St Michael’s Athy lightweight Eric Donovan bowed out after he was edged out 4-3 by Bahodirjon Sultonov of Uzbekistan, a bronze medal winner at the 2007 World Senior Championships.
Taylor was ahead all the way against Buger – who once fought pro, winning all her four fights – and forced the German into a standing count in the third round.
Taylor’s win sets up a last eight clash with Bulgaria’s Demitsa Dliseeva this afternoon.
Earlier yesterday, Gary Molloy claimed a notable scalp in his first senior away international with a 2-1 win over Russian flyweight Dmitry Sotnikov and World and European Youth champs Ray Moylette and Jason Quigley also recorded wins.
Hyatt helps Jamaica punish Ireland
CRICKET:A century from opening batsman Danza Hyatt helped Jamaica to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Ireland in their 50-over clash at Discovery Bay on Wednesday, writes Emmet Riordan.
The 27-year-old, who played a number of seasons in the North-West league, followed up his two half-centuries in the drawn three-day game with 102 off 129 balls as the hosts chased a target of 230 with 16 balls to spare at the Kaiser Sports Club.
Ireland skipper William Porterfield admitted his side fell 50 runs short of a good target after losing their way in the second half of their innings.
At Kaiser Sports Club, Discovery Bay: Ireland 229 (49.3 ovs) (G Wilson 53, W Porterfield 44, N Jones 30, K O’Brien 26; A Russell 5-42, T Lambert 2-10), Jamaica 230-4 (47.2 ovs) (D Hyatt 102, D Bernard 52no). Jamaica won by 6 wkts.
Thornton leads Irish challenge in Madeira
GOLF:A four under par finish for Simon Thornton of Team Ireland set the pace for the Irish challengers at the Madeira Open at the Porto Santo Golfe club yesterday. The Newcastle based Thornton signed for a 68 after round one.
For Gareth Shaw the day was one of extremes with an eagle on the third balanced out by a double bogey on the 10th. A mix of five bogeys and then two consecutive birdies on the fifth and sixth hole left him four over for the day on 76.
For Michael Hoey it was a level par finish while Glasson’s Colm Moriarty returned a 74 with three bogeys and one birdie.
Two Englishmen were in a four-way tie for the lead after the opening round. Chris Gane and Ben Evans shot six-under-par 66s to top the leaderboard alongside Scotland’s George Murray and home favourite Jose-Felipe Lima on Porto Santo.
Gane picked up six birdies and an eagle with two bogeys, while Evans, the world number 836, saw his round boosted by five birdies on the back nine.
Murray had seven birdies and a bogey and Lima an eagle and four birdies.
Two more English players, James Morrison and Oliver Fisher, were a shot back, level with Scottish pair Andrew McArthur and Jamie McLeary and France’s Julien Quesne. Morrison had looked like making it a five-way tie for first after a run of eagle-birdie-birdie on 14, 15 and 16, but a bogey at the 18th dropped him back.
