Kellie Harrington said she was "overwhelmed with emotions" after securing Ireland's fourth medal of the Olympic Games in a lightweight quarter-final victory over Algeria's Imane Khelif on Tuesday.
Harrington won the fight by unanimous decision, and will face Thailand's Sudaporn Seesondee in a semi-final on Thursday for a chance to upgrade her medal from a bronze to a silver or gold.
"She was throwing from real far but making mad grunting noises, like 'Whooooh', and I was like, 'Oh my God, what is this?'" Harrington told RTÉ about her win against Khelif.
"She had really long arms. It was hard to get in, and do what I would like to do. It wasn't an amazing fight, but it was a fight that I won.
"She was smiling at me and sticking out her tongue. I was just smiling back, as if to say, 'Look, it's all fun and games until my hand gets lifted'."
3 August 2021; Kellie Harrington with coaches John Conlan, right, and Zaur Antia after her victory in the women's lightweight quarter-final bout against Imane Khelif of Algeria at the Kokugikan Arena during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
The Dubliner paid tribute to her coaches for helping her to Olympic success.
"I know sometimes you think of getting here, I never think of getting medals," she said.
"Sometimes I think I'm lucky. I can't be that lucky to be winning all these things and end up here, and have a bronze medal in my bag from the Olympics Games.
"Everything that I've achieved, I owe it to Noel Burke who's my club coach at home, and I owe it to these men (Zaur Antia and John Conlan) and the rest of the Irish high performance team. I owe it to my teammates as well for all the sparring and the preparation, all the support that they've given me out here, and that we've given each other.
"The support that I'm getting from the community back home... I've heard that it's lit back home.
"I'm just so happy about this [win], and my emotions really come when it comes to this: To be able to give them something to be happy about, and to sing and dance for, is [great]. I'm just one person lifting a little bit of a nation."
Asked about the semi-final, Harrington played it cool.
Hakuna Matata, it means 'No worries for the rest of your days'," she said.
"That's what I say, and that's what the Lion King says."
Kellie Harrington interview after Olympic Games quarter-final win
'I'm overwhelmed with emotion... You think of getting here but you never think of getting medals'@Kelly64kg pays tribute to coaches, team-mates and community#tokyo2020 #RTESport #boxing #olympics
📺 Watch – https://t.co/hHD01dUcII
📱 Updates - https://t.co/WA9s2jBflo pic.twitter.com/EhSY6oqYrL
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 3, 2021
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