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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Gavin Quinn

Bernard Dunne reacts to criticism of his role in IABA high-performance unit

Bernard Dunne has commented on his role in Irish boxing after a document was distributed to the IABA board critical of his stewardship of the high-performance unit.

The anonymous document, which emerged in April, criticised the former world champion and recommended he leave his role as IABA high-performance director.

Speaking ahead of the Tokyo Olympics this summer, Dunne pointed to the success of the team in recent years when asked about his position on the matter.

"To be honest, I don't see most of it," Dunne told Morning Ireland on RTE Radio 1.

"My main focus is that the athletes are not distracted by it. My job is to serve them, serve the coaches and to make sure they have all they need to perform in terms of having the right strictures and right processes in place.

"As we have seen out here the team has performed. They have now won 21 international medals in the last two-and-a-half years."

Seven Irish boxers have now qualified for the Tokyo games at the European qualifiers in Paris, including former world champion Kellie Harrington, Kurt Walker and Belfast siblings Michaela and Aidan Walsh.

He added: "I wouldn't say we exceeded expectations. We came out here with a plan for all our athletes to have an opportunity to qualify. I'm extremely happy for the seven that were successful.

"It's been a long journey to get here, they've had to show real resilience to keep going throughout the last two years, especially. They have worked hard, stayed driven, and have been focused. I am delighted for the athletes, they have put so much into it. They have got just rewards in fairness to them."

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