Amy Broadhurst reinvigorated by second European U22 gold medal

Amy Broadhurst now knows exactly what the point of it all is after collecting her second successive European U22 medal over the weekend.

The Dundalk favourite admits having been controversially denied a light welterweight medal at the World Championships in India last November she lost a degree of motivation.

With potential success seemingly taken out of her hands, the Louth lightweight found herself asking ‘what’s the point?’ on certain days.

However, having stormed to yet another gold medal at another major tournament, the Dealgan southpaw now knows why she does it.

“I wouldn’t have believed that this could happen at the beginning of the year because, after India, some of the days I wanted to train hard and then, the next day, I wondered ‘what’s the point?’,” she told The Dundalk Democrat.

“I won my U22 title and qualified for these Europeans, but I went through a stage where I was like, ‘I’m not getting funding, I’m not being paid for this, I don’t want to do it anymore’.”

“I go through stages where I feel like giving up, but look at what I’m just after achieving. I’d rather achieve all this than have money because there is no better feeling than winning and winning such a major title.”

Having won three previous European titles along with an EU crown, not to mention going into this year’s installment as a more experienced fighter and indeed a proven senior operator, most would expect Broadhurst to be confident of victory.

However, the woman to beat points out she never expected to finish top of the podium in Russia.

The 22-year-old, who beat Rebecca Nicoli in the 60kg decider, felt the law of averages would suggest another win wasn’t on the cards.

“Coming over, I wasn’t expecting to get gold because it just didn’t seem realistic to win five on the trot,” Broadhurst outlined.

“People used to say that no-one is going to do what Katie Taylor did, nobody really thought anyone could win two or three on the trot, but I’m after winning five on the trot and a silver medal.”

“Bernard Dunne [High Performance Director] had said to me that these Europeans would be a big test for me, with it being an Olympic year, but I didn’t let the pressure get to me, I knew once I performed to my best that that would be the main thing.

“Each fight and performance got better for me, which I was happy with, but there’s is obviously a lot of room for improvement still.”