In a close fight, decided only in the third round, Brazilian Bia Ferreira was defeated by Irishwoman Kelllie Harrington by split decision in the lightweight semi-final (up to 60 kilos) of the women’s boxing tournament at the Paris Olympic Games (France), on Saturday afternoon (3), and secured the bronze medal.
IT’S BRONZE FOR BRAZIL! 🥉🇧🇷
Beatriz Ferreira won bronze in boxing up to 60kg! Bia, you are a giant!
You fought hard and brought home the medal! YOU ARE HUGE!#Olympic Games #TimeBrazil #Paris2024 #Medley pic.twitter.com/CDBXMbxyKp
— Time Brazil (@timebrasil) August 3, 2024
Despite putting in a lot of effort against the opponent who defeated her in the final of the Tokyo Olympic Games (2020), the Bahian ended up being defeated by the Irishwoman, who showed superiority from the first moments of the fight.
“It was a great fight. We put on a show. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the result I wanted. There’s not much time to regret it. I didn’t end the Olympic boxing competition the way I wanted, which was with a flourish, everyone knows that. I came here with a big goal, which was to make it to another final. I managed to complete part of the mission and get another medal. A mission that was half accomplished successfully. I lost to the current Olympic champion. Not just anyone. I knew it would be a tough fight. I gave what I had to give. I know I could have done much better. There’s not much to regret. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. I’m sorry for disappointing anyone, but the person who wanted it most was me,” said the Brazilian, who will now dedicate herself exclusively to professional boxing.
The reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) world champion secured the bronze medal despite her defeat to Kelllie Harrington because there is no third-place match in Olympic boxing, with the two semi-final losers winning medals.
* Updated at 6:26 pm with statements from Bia Ferreira.
