Kellie Harrington has racked up another gold medal after winning her final at the prestigious Strandja Cup in Bulgaria.
The Portland Row technician was the unanimous winner as she came up against Natalia Shadrina of Serbia in the final in Sofia.
She took the Russian and Finnish judges’ scorecards emphatically 30-27, while judges from Bulgaria, Netherlands and Kazakhstan ruled it 29-28 in the Irishwoman’s favour.
Harrington was in control from the first bell, picking her opponent off with neat combinations and making it difficult for the Serb to find any rhythm, and taking all five cards.
She picked it up in the second round and, despite Shadrina landing some shots of her own, she took four of the five judges’ ratings and the fight was over as a contest.
With the medal in her pocket, Harrington eased off in the final round, though she still managed to take the cards 3-2 to win by unanimous decision.
It brings to an end a successful return from action for Harrington, who hasn’t fought competitively since taking home gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Strandja Cup is the final major tournament before the World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey in May.
Harrington will be odds-on to regain the lightweight (60kg) gold she won in India in 2018, having missed out on the 2019 finals in Russia.
Roscommon's Aoife O'Rourke could make it a brace of golds for Ireland when she competes in the middleweight final against Panama’s Atheyna Bylon this evening.
