Amy Broadhurst: GB fighter defends switch from Ireland after Olympics agony

Amy Broadhurst says she has “no regrets” over switching allegiance from Ireland to Great Britain after she missed out on securing a first appearance at the Olympic Games.

The 27-year-old from Dundalk needed to finish in the top three in the qualifier tournament in Thailand to make the Paris Games but was beaten 4-1 by Yeonji Oh of Korea in the 60kg division at the quarter-final stage on Friday,

Broadhurst, who won World, European and Commonwealth Games titles two years ago, moved to Great Britain in March after not being selected in the Ireland team for the final qualifier in Bangkok.

“If everyone had any idea what I went through for the past 12 months you would very well understand why I done what I done and in saying that I have no regrets at all about the decisions I’ve made,” Broadhurst said on Instagram.

“Since joining Team GB I’ve been made t feel at home. These people brought back the love for boxing that I was missing and lit a fire in me that I haven’t felt for a long time. I haven’t been this happy in a long time – they took a chance on me and believed in me and unfortunately I couldn’t return the favour.”

Broadhurst described the heartbreak she felt after missing out on a first Olympics appearance.

She added: “My heart hurts like it’s never hurt before. There was a dream inside of me since I was a little girl and today that flame slowly died out – my whole life has all been about the Olympic Games, I made my life all about boxing and today I suffered my biggest blow.

“I gave myself every opportunity I could to get to the Olympic Games but that wasn’t God’s plan for me. I would like to thank the GB coaches and staff for all their hard work and making me feel I belong.”

Broadhurst said she was “taking some time from social media and from boxing now”.