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A dejected David Oliver Joyce following his defeat to Evaldas Petrauskas of Lithuania. ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan
Heartbreak

Olympic dream over for David Oliver Joyce

Athy native suffers heavy defeat in Olympic qualifier in Turkey.

DAVID OLIVER JOYCE will not be joining his compatriots Darren O’Neill, John Joe Nevin and Michael Conlon in London this July after a 19-10 defeat to Lithuania’s Evaldas Petrauskas.

The St. Michael’s Athy man had entered the bout with high hopes of qualification but found himself 6-3 down after an opening round in which he failed to produce enough telling shots to impress the judges.

His task was made all but impossible after round two when his Lithuanian opponent stretched his lead to 13-6 thanks to some good punches near the end of the round.

Petrauskas continued his domination in round three, once again outscoring his Irish opponent, to win the fight 19-10 and secure his own Olympic qualification.

There was better news for Ireland’s Adam Nolan who enjoyed a comfortable 17-13 win over Tamerlan Abdullayev of Azerbaijan. Victory in Friday’s semi-final would see the Wexford welterweight secure his place in the London games.

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