Ireland is back in the Gold medal picture in the women's lightweight division.
Top-seeded Kellie Anne Harrington advanced to the final round of the Tokyo Olympics following a hard-fought split decision win over Thailand's Sudaporn Seesondee. All five judges had the bout scored 29-28, two for Seesondee while Ireland's Harrington prevailed on the three majority cards Thursday afternoon at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo.
Harrington was favored pre-Olympics to reestablish Irish glory in the division that Katie Taylor conquered during the inaugural edition of women's boxing in the Olympics at 2012 London.
The nine minutes of semifinal action proved to be a lot tougher for Harrington than in her three unanimous decision wins leading to this point. Seesondee earned her place at the table, scoring an upset win over number-four seed Simranjit Baatth in the Round of 16 and then outlasting Great Britain's Caroline Dubois to guarantee a medal for Thailand.
Through two rounds, Seesondee was very much in the fight and with a chance to pull off yet another upset win. Strangely, she managed to win round three on all but two cards, only for the scores to not break her way.
Harrington will now face Brazil's Beatriz Ferreira for lightweight Gold.
Ferreira has proven to be a handful for every female lightweight she has faced thus far in Tokyo. Mira Potkonen was forced to learn that lesson the hard way, as the inspirational 40-year old two-time Olympian from Finland was shutout in their semifinal bout.
Potkonen already entered the fight as the oldest boxer ever to medal, breaking the record by more than three years. She had a shot at Gold in having owned two previous wins over Ferreira, though having lost their most recent encounter this past February.
Thursday's semifinal was far more lopsided, with Ferreira dominating from the opening bell. Ferreira was quicker to the draw with her potent right hand, also landing several left hooks around Potkonen's high guard to sweep every round on all five scorecards.
Potkonen exits Tokyo with her second Bronze medal in tow. She claimed the same prize in the 2016 Rio Olympics, though best known during those Games for her stunning upset of Taylor in the Round of 16. She shares third place with Seesondee in Tokyo.
Harrington and Ferreira will vie for Gold on August 8.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
