Carrick-on-Suir All-Ireland champ Chantelle Robinson has her sights set on boxing for Ireland

Carrick-on-Suir boxer Chantelle Robinson’s ambition to represent Ireland moved a step closer when she was crowned All-Ireland Under 22 women’s champion in the 50kg weight class at the National Stadium in Dublin on Saturday week last.

The 20-year-old from Castle View, Carrick-on-Suir clinched her first All-Ireland title when her opponent, Irish international boxer and three-times European medallist Daina Moorehouse from Enniskerry BC in Wicklow, withdrew from the final.

Chantelle, who boxes for Saviour's Crystal Boxing Club in Waterford city, was informed of her title win due to a walkover at the pre-final weigh-in.

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Paul Simpson, head coach with Saviour's Crystal BC, said the national title puts Chantelle in the mix for a place on the Irish women’s boxing team.

She will now compete in the Irish Elite Boxing Championships in November, when she will be assessed on whether she will enter the qualifier competition for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Chantelle is fantastic,” said Paul Simpson. “She is one of the hardest trainers we have in the gym. You have to work hard for it as it is a very tough sport”.

Chantelle said she was really shocked to secure her first All-Ireland title and her goal now is to train hard to secure a place on the Irish team in the future.

“I need to keep training away, keep my head down and stay focused,” she told The Nationalist.

Her immediate goals are to win a National Elite title later this year and be selected to compete in the qualifier competition for the Olympics. She would love to compete in the Olympics someday, but for now it would be a big achievement to be selected for the qualifiers.

“I would be over the moon,” she said.

Chantelle, who works at Tesco in Lisduggan Shopping Centre in Waterford, joined the Saviour's Crystal Boxing Club three years ago.

Her love of boxing was fostered at Carrick-on-Suir’s St Nicholas Boxing Club, which she was a member of for nine years.

Anthony Benesch of St Nicholas Boxing Club recalled that Chantelle joined the club at the age of nine and described her as an “exceptional” and “brilliant” young boxer. He congratulated Chantelle on her All-Ireland title and wished her every success in the future.

Chantelle will this Friday proudly lead her hometown’s St Patrick’s Day Parade. She was “speechless” when Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District’s Cathaoirleach Cllr David Dunne called to her door last week and asked her to be the parade grand marshal.

“I was gobsmacked for a few seconds,” she said.