Wood you Adam and Eve it? – Dublin Starlet Rejoices in first International Call-Up
It won’t quite be a case of living the dream in Croatia over the coming weeks for Eve Woods – because this time last year she didn’t even dare to dream of representing her country in a major international tournament.
The popular Corinthians light welter has long been earmarked as one to watch but amazingly has never worn the Irish singlet.
That will all change over the coming weeks as Woods travels to PoreÄŤ where she will represent Ireland in the European Under-22 Championships – and she couldn’t be more excited.
“When I got selected I couldn’t believe it was actually happening, I’ve never represented Ireland before so this will be my first time,” she tells Irish-boxing.com.
“This time last year I would’ve never thought I’d be where I am now, although I would’ve loved to have been but I just wouldn’t have thought it would be happening. I’m really looking forward to getting some good experience over there
Considering the young Dub has proven herself an Elite level fighter by claiming a National Elite title in her first ever Senior bout last year, Wood did look odds on for the Euro selection.
However, she points out the fact she didn’t get a chance to prove her form in the recent U22 Nationals left her concerned.
“I felt strong going into the U22 national competition. I really put the head down in my club and got some great training but only got a semis as my opponent pulled out in the final, so I didn’t know where that left me as I was excited to get out and give a good performance.
“When we got to High Performance we had two days in Dublin then a week in Belfast, so I was really looking forward to getting some good spars and hopefully doing enough to get selected.”
Get selected she did and a first Irish international appearance awaits – although Wood is hopeful she is not just confined to one International cap in Croatia. The emerging talent, who believes she has improved massively since teaming up with the Irish coaches, is targeting gold.
“Since I won the Elites in October I’ve been training up in High Performance and I really feel I’ve improved. Now I’m looking forward to getting out there and putting all I’ve learned into play,” she adds.
“A gold medal would be the goal as it would be anyone’s but I’m just really looking forward to having my first international fight for Ireland and hopefully picking up lots of experience that I can use to keep improving and learning.”
Wood is one of those fighters who has excelled in the High Performance set-up and is enjoying seeing the improvements she is making under the guidance of the Irish coaches.
“I’ve found the preparation has been really good, the coaches in High Performance are really able to finetune everything and have you ready for all aspects and possibilities of a fight. We had a tough week training last week as the final preparation so everyone seems ready to go. There’s some really good talent on the team and I’m excited to see everyone get out there and do really well.”
