Katie Taylor's hopes of defending her Olympic title in Rio de Janeiro suffered an unexpected setback on Friday afternoon after the Bray fighter lost in the AIBA European Olympic Qualifiers in Turkey.
Taylor lost to Azerbaijan's Yana Alekseeva in their semi-final bout, as all three judges scored the bout 39-37. The loss is Taylor's first since 2011.
Katie Taylor loses to Yana Alekseeva and misses her first chance to qualify for #Rio2016 and defend her gold medal. pic.twitter.com/oMreLG7vJ2
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) April 15, 2016
The Bray fighter will have another opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games next month. The World Championships count as the second and final opportunity for her to reach August's event.
"Obviously very disappointed with the result, I alway go to these compeitions with the intention are bringing back a gold medal. It's such a big competition, an Olympic qualifier. The loss came for me at the wrong time today" she said after the fight.
"At the same time she's a great boxer, you can't take it away from here. She deserved it."
Taylor is the reigning World Champion, and has won the 60kg gold medal on five occasions since winning her first World title in India in 2006.
Despite the loss, the 29-year-old remains one of Ireland's best medal prospects in Brazil this summer.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
