By Tom Degun

May 3 - International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) President C.K Wu has praised the quality on display at the 2010 Youth World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, as all of the medallists, including Ireland's Joe Ward (pictured in red), secured qualification for the inaugural Summer Youth Olympic Games in August.



Ward, 16, was one of the standout performers of the competition as he claimed gold at middleweight with a comprehensive 6-1 win over Australian Damien Hooper.

Wu claimed that boxers such as the Irish starlet had made the Championships, which is the only qualifying event for the Youth Olympics, which open in Singapore on August 14, such a fantastic event despite a delayed start caused by the recent volcano eruption in Iceland.
 
Wu said: "We had 25 countries in the semi-finals and today we have 15 countries in the finals.

"This is proof of the universality of our sport and the popularity of boxing worldwide."

The AIBA President also praised the Azerbaijan Boxing Federation for their organisation of the tournament.

Azerbaijan hosted the tournament after France withdrew at a late stage and despite the logistical challenges posed by the volcanic eruption; the tournament featured some fantastic fights.

Ward in particular was outstanding and his victory over Hooper meant that the boxer from Westmeath claimed his second world title inside of a year after he won the light middleweight gold at the AIBA World Junior Championships in Armenia last May.

Ward said: "I still can’t believe it and I think it will take a while for it to sink in that I’m a double world champion. 

"I’m thrilled with the win and very proud to be taking home gold for Ireland from this tournament.

"I’ll train to get ready for Singapore now and hopefully I can pick another gold medal up."

With one gold medal and one silver, which was won by Belfast light flyweight Ryan Burnett, Ireland finished joint third in the medals table alongside India.

Cuba topped the overall medal standings with five medals, three of which were gold, while hosts Azerbaijan finished second with three medals, including two gold.

England, Scotland and Wales, who competed as individual nations, sent a total of 15 boxers between them but none of them progressed beyond the preliminary rounds.

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