Boxing is under pressure in several quarters but at underage level it still appears to be as pure as we would like the senior game to be.
Step up Dearbhla Rooney.
Medals are few and far between in the world of today wherever you are from and especially so if you are from Leitrim but the Manorhamilton native has secured a bronze medal in the Youth Olympic Games.
Dearbhla beat New Zealand boxer, Te Mania Rzeka Tai Shelford-Edmonds with a final score of 0:5 in the women's featherweight category (54kg-57kg).
Some achievement when you consider the stage Dearbhla was on.
Team Ireland in Buenos Aires comprises of a squad of 16 athletes from 9 sports.
The team of 5 male athletes and 11 female athletes includes Nhat Nguyen (Badminton) and Mona McSharry (Swimming), along with recipients of Olympic Solidarity Scholarships which were awarded to assist with qualification and preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
This is the third edition of the Youth Olympic Games which are hosted every four years.
The Games, running from October 6 to October 18 feature more than 4,000 talented junior athletes aged 15 to 18 from 200 countries in over 32 sports.
After the emergence of a public debate about the participation of youngsters in sport and in particular girls, the likes of Dearbhla's victory will become increasingly important to remind those outside of sport that it is possible to achieve and do so on the world stage.
Argentina might seem a long way away (try walking it) so no doubt it was a great help to Dearbhla that her family travelled there to support her.
Impossible not to smile watching this
Dearbhla Rooney's family dancing in the crowd after her Youth Olympic bronze medal win as The Rocky Road To Dublin blares out around the arena in Buenos Aires
Video: @TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/8S2xzXb3IQ
— Irish-Boxing.com (@Irishboxingcom) October 17, 2018
These are the types of notifications you like to receive on your phone.
MEDAL ALERT - BOXING
Dearbhla Rooney has won BRONZE in the Women's Feather (54-57kg) at the Youth Olympic Games in #BuenosAires2018 #TeamIreland ☘ï¸ðŸ‡®ðŸ‡ª
LISTEN to her reaction 👇👇https://t.co/NmdsSGzLRt pic.twitter.com/XD7emInCug
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) October 17, 2018
Chomhgairdeas Dearbhla!
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