European gold medal winner Gabriel Dossen won’t fight in this weekend’s National Elite Championships.
The Olympic Galway fighter entered the tournament at 80kg and was initially drawn against Jason Clancy, whom he was set to face in the National Stadium this Friday. However, the Galway man, is no longer in the semi-final line-up.
The Irish Sun reported on Saturday that some past out-of-the-ring issues have resulted in a six-month suspension for the Westerner. Some may feel that these repercussions seem harsh, especially considering the issues, which were subsequently ruled on in court, date back to before he won gold at the Europeans.
Dossen’s absence severely hampers his Olympic hopes. If the suspension is indeed six months as reported the 22-year-old will have a fight on his hands to be selected to represent Ireland at the European Games, which act as an Olympic Qualifier, in June.
Dossen isn’t the only high-profile casualty from the initial entry list, his club mate World Champion Castlerea native Lisa O’Rourke pulled out of the 66kg class because of a hand injury.
