Gráinne Walsh is announced as the winner, by unanimous decision, of her 65kg quarter-final bout against Brazil's Haziel Krishna Franco Santos at the Strandja multi-nations tournament in Bulgaria this afternoon.

Offaly's Gráinne secures medal at prestigious tournament in Bulgaria

Adrian Cusack

Published: Thu 26 Feb 2026, 5:44 PM

Last updated: Thu 26 Feb 2026, 6:04 PM

Gráinne Walsh will have a important addition to her luggage when she flies home from the Strandja tournament in Bulgaria after she guaranteed herself at least a bronze medal this afternoon (Thursday).

In her 65kg quarter-final bout at Europe’s oldest multi-nations boxing competition the Tullamore woman delivered a dominant display against Brazil's Haziel Krishna Franco Santos.

Boxing cleverly against her highly-mobile opponent, Gráinne found the target early on with some good-quality, snappy combination punches, while also dodging the counters from Santos.

Her effective work was rewarded by the judges, with Walsh winning the first two rounds on all five of the judges' scorecards.

That ensured her victory was all but guaranteed, and even though the Brazilian took the last round on three of the judges' cards, it was the Irish fighter whose arm was raised by a unanimous decision on scores of 30-27 (2) and 29-28 (3).

Today's win, following on from her opening victory against Armenia's Elida Kocharyan yesterday, means Walsh will now go on to face Kazakhstan's Laura Yessenkeldi in the semi-final on Saturday.