After strong showings at the Junior European and World Championships this year, Scotland once again enhanced their growing reputation at the European Youth Championships in Dublin last week.
A squad of five boxers travelled to compete against the best Europe has to offer, Charlie Flynn, Rhys Pagan, Mark McKeown, Grant Quigley and Kieran Smith. A record 38 nations competed in the tournament from Monday 22nd August to Saturday 27th August.
The Scotland squad travelled in confident mood with all boxers involved having already secured Scottish and GB medals this year and all being named to represent the country at the Youth Commonwealth Games on Isle of Man next month.
Charlie Flynn was first to take to the ring on Monday at National Stadium against Moldovas Mihail Orlov. Charlie had been in good form of late but had unfortunately picked up a neck injury which hampered his performance and ultimately cost him the bout.
Better news was to follow as Mark McKeown took on AIBA World Championship Silver Medallist Aleko Tchadashvili of Georgia. This was the toughest of tests for a first bout, but one which Mark passed with flying colours, showing power and determination throughout and going on to gain an impressive 20-11 victory.
This buoyed the Scotland camp as Grant Quigley took on Slovenias Aljaz Venko. This was a tight encounter, with the Slovenian displaying a good defensive technique. Grant however, stepped up his efforts as the bout progressed, finishing the fitter and stronger of the two boxers and emerging with an 8-4 win.
Rhys Pagan took his place in the competition against Nikolay Koev of Bulgaria on the Tuesday and was unfortunate not to progress. After a good first round performance, Rhys suffered a slight nose bleed after a head clash with the Bulgarian. The referee, despite the nose bleed only lasting a matter of seconds, called a halt to the contest in round two, much to the disappointment of young Rhys and the rest of the Scotland squad. Given the way he w
as performing, there is strong opinion amongst the travelling ABS party that he could well have gone on to win the contest had it been allowed to continue.
So a setback for the Scots but one which they didnt let affect them. With Kieran Smith given a bye it was Mark McKeown who was back in the ring against Armenias Kolya Grigoryan. After another impressive display from young Mark, he ran out a 15-11 winner and marched into the Quarter Finals.
As was the case in the earlier round, Grant Quigley drew inspiration to also clinch his place in the Quarter Finals as he once again produced a powerful performance to end the hopes of Belarussian Dzianis Prykhodzka 9-5.
Scotland were now looking for a hat-trick of victories as Kieran Smith made his debut in the competition against Patrik Jiracek of the Czech Republic. Young Kieran duly obliged as he produced the third win in succession for Scotland 10-7, making it three Scots in the Quarter Finals.
Momentum was now building and Mark McKeown was leading the way as he took on Polands Sylwester Kozolwski for a place in the Semi Finals. Having already overcome some tough opponents in previous rounds this was no different and turned out to be an extremely hard fought contest. Mark, however was boxing with real confidence now and did enough to overcome the Pole 15-14 and move into the last four in his weight category..
Next up was Grant Quigley who was looking to join Mark in the Semi Final stages. This proved to be a tough proposition as he took on home boxer Stephen Broadhurst. Although Grant boxed well, the young Irishman just shaded the contest, winning by an 8-5 margin.
Kieran Smith, the third of Scotlands Quarter Finalists was also aiming to progress against Viktor Murashkin of Belarus. Despite his best efforts, he too lost out 14-7.
Mark McKeown in the corner during his Semi Final with Coaches Tony Kerr and Mike Keane
And so, it was left to McKeown to fly the flag, not only for Scotland but the whole of the UK as he was the only home nation boxer from Scotland, England or Wales to remain in the competition.
At this stage, the competition reached new heights and young Mark was drawn against Russian Radzhad Butaev. Once again, he showed great power and determination and despite the Russians pedigree Mark produced a great performance and narrowly lost out 13-10 to collect European Bronze.
A great squad performance from the ABS Youths overall and from young Mark McKeown in particular, who now has a European medal to his name. This is another step forward for Scotland and they once again make their mark on the International scene. The young Scots will now be hoping to carry this form into next months Youth Commonwealth Games.
