TOKYO: Aidan Walsh has been forced out of his semifinal bout at the Tokyo Olympics after the Irish welterweight injured his ankle while celebrating his quarterfinal victory.
Boxing officials announced Sunday that Walsh did not attend the medical check and weigh-in before his scheduled bout with Britain’s Pat McCormack, who advances to the gold medal bout by walkover.
Walsh, who is from Belfast, will still win a bronze medal. But he appeared to cost himself a chance at gold by celebrating overzealously after he beat Merven Clair of Mauritius 4:1 on Friday to advance to the medal bouts.
Walsh wildly jumped up and down after the verdict was announced, and he landed awkwardly on his ankle. The Irish team said Walsh sprained his ankle, and he was spotted by Irish media leaving the Kokugikan Arena in a wheelchair later Friday.
The Irish team confirmed Walsh is out of the Olympics due to an ankle injury, saying only that it occurred during his bout. Walsh clearly was healthy and mobile throughout his fight until he came up in pain from his celebration.
“What Aidan did this week is an incredible achievement,” said Bernard Dunne, Ireland team leader for boxing. “His performance throughout the tournament has been outstanding, and it is great to see him write his name in the annals of Irish sport.”
The top-seeded McCormack was favored to beat Walsh. McCormack now will face the winner of the other welterweight semifinal between Roniel Iglesias of Cuba and the Russian team’s Andrei Zamkovoy.
Ireland has two other boxers still fighting for medals. Walsh’s bronze is his nation’s 17th medal in boxing, representing roughly half of all the medals won by the Irish team in its Olympic history.
Irish boxer injures ankle celebrating win, out of Olympics
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Irish boxer injures ankle celebrating win, out of Olympics
- Britain’s Pat McCormack advances to the gold medal bout by walkover
- Walsh, who beat Merven Clair of Mauritius 4:1 on Friday, gets a bronze medal
Real Madrid victory in Super Cup semi-final sets up fourth consecutive El Clásico in Saudi Arabia
- Early Valverde rocket set the tone for a physical encounter in front of a packed Al-Inma Stadium
- 55,651 fans attended the match, topping Barcelona-Athletic Bilbao’s crowd by more than 5,000
JEDDAH: While Wednesday saw a sea of blue and red take over Al-Inma Stadium, Thursday belonged almost entirely to the colour white. The second semi-final of the 2026 Spanish Super Cup pitted Madrid Derby rivals Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid against each other in a fiercely contested encounter that ignited within the opening two minutes and ended with a 2-1 victory to Real Madrid.
In the first minute of the game, Real Madrid won a free kick from a position that appeared harmless, but Federico Valverde had other ideas. The Uruguayan unleashed a thunderous long-range strike that flew into the net, sending the stadium into raptures almost immediately.
Despite the early breakthrough, Real Madrid did not dominate proceedings. Atlético controlled much of the shot count, pushing relentlessly as they attempted to overcome the forged “home” advantage enjoyed by their city rivals in Jeddah.
That advantage was not driven solely by Saudi supporters. Ahead of kick-off, official broadcaster Thmanyah Sports got hold of a Real Madrid fan from Iraq who praised the organisation of the event and thanked Saudi Arabia for providing fans from across the region the opportunity to watch their team live.
Atlético didn’t plan on sending those fans home with a smile. They forced Thibaut Courtois into action on multiple occasions, with his save from a corner mid-way into the first half proving key in preserving Real’s lead.
Real did get close to doubling their advantage in the 27th minute when Rodrygo found himself through on goal, executing a trademark Ronaldo chop to beat his marker before being denied by Jan Oblak.
Atlético resumed their push after the break. In the 49th minute, they looked to find Julián Álvarez with a dangerous cross, but Antonio Rüdiger reacted sharply to step in and clear.
Once again, it was Real Madrid’s individual quality that made the difference. Valverde split the defence with a perfectly weighted through ball, releasing Rodrygo, who calmly slotted past Oblak in the 55th minute.
Atlético responded with increased vigour almost immediately. A slick move down the right flank culminated in a cross from Giuliano Simeone, which Alexander Sørloth powered home beyond Raúl Asencio in the 58th minute to bring the contest back to life.
As Atlético pushed for an equaliser, the Real Madrid fans rallied behind their team with chants familiar to Jeddah. Borrowing from one of Al-Ahli’s most popular anthems — one that engulfed Middle Eastern football in recent years — the crowd sang in unison: “For Real we came, from every city.”
Atlético were not fazed, as they came agonisingly close to levelling soon after. Antoine Griezmann produced a spectacular overhead kick from close range, only for Courtois to make another vital save. Moments later, Marcos Llorente broke through on the right once more, but his effort drifted wide.
Llorente continued to threaten, curling another attempt — this time from outside the box — but once again failed to find the target as Atlético searched desperately for a way back into the game.
Ultimately, Real Madrid managed to emerge unscathed, as they held on for the 2-1 victory.
Sunday will see the Al-Inma Stadium host once again, as Barcelona and Real Madrid face off in the fourth consecutive El Clásico Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia. Barcelona won the first encounter in 2023, followed by a 4-1 victory by Real in 2024, before Barcelona rallied to a 5-2 victory in the 2025 edition.
