John Joe Nevin adds a silver lining to Ireland's Olympic adventure

Mullingar native qualifies for Saturday’s Olympic final after defeating Cuba's Lazaro Alvarez Estrada

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John Joe Nevin of Ireland reacts after he was declared the winner against Lazaro Alvarez Estrada of Cuba during their Men's Light Fly (49kg) Boxing Semifinal bout on Day 14 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 10, 2012 in London, England.

Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images

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John Joe Nevin, the Mullingar member of the travelling community is through to Saturday's Olympic final at the ExCeL Arena.

Less than 24 hours after Katie Taylor's fantastic gold medal win, Nevin made it through to his first Olympic final. Four years after an early exit in Beijing, he was full value for his five point win over world number one Lazaro Alvarez Estrada from Cuba.

Nevin won every round against the world champion with a mixture of control and aggression.

"Hopefully I can go one step better now and win the gold medal, I am really enjoying this," said Nevin straight after the fight.

Sadly his team-mate Paddy Barnes made his exit from the Games half an hour before Nevin's victory.

Belfast boy Barnes had to be content with a bronze medal when he lost on a heartbreaking count-back to China's Shiming Zou.

Nevin will now meet Great Britain's Luke Campbell or Japan's Satoshi Shimizu in Saturday night's final.
"I know I can get better, there is more to come," said Nevin.
 

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