KRISTY’S BOXING ON REGARDLESS
Worlds, Tokyo on the agenda
Geelong boxer Kristy Harris has spoken of her road to redemption and revealed her bold plans for the future after missing out on a Commonwealth Games berth.
KRISTY Harris has done a lot of soul searching in the past fortnight.
Missing selection for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the four-time Australian boxing champion has had plenty of stew over since the split-decision loss in the national titles.
But Harris is on the road to redemption, desperate to atone for her failed Games bid, and strive to be on the plane for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“I’ll pick myself up and dust myself off,” she said yesterday.
“I really want a medal at the next world championships and to qualify for the next Olympics.
“I’m only 24, so I’ve got plenty left in me, and the Olympics is only two years away.
“I didn’t qualify for the last Olympics, but I was close. I wasn’t quite up there with those girls, but if I keep at it in the next two years, I think I’ll have much more of a chance next time around.”
Harris overcame a host of setbacks this year, sustaining a broken fibula and enduring months of rehabilitation.
“It just wasn’t my best year, things didn’t go to plan from the start,” she said.
“I had low confidence all year because I’d been out of training and competition for months. It was a really good thing that I was able to go up to Canberra with the AIS and I could do my rehab.
“And I did get back on track. I had three fights leading up to the nationals and I didn’t have the best preparation because I’d been out for so long.”
Harris returned to the ring in September, competing against the world’s best in Europe.
The fearsome flyweight won her first bout before dropping a split-points decision in the second match.
After a week training in Spain and Turkey, Harris went to Ireland where she won the Celtic Box Cup and female boxer of the tournament.
It gave the former Clonard College student a shot of confidence before the national championships earlier this month, her only route to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
But it all came crashing down in the first bout against Vivian Tran.
“It was a really close fight,” Harris said.
“I felt good, I felt sharp in there and I counter-boxed her. She was more aggressive.
“But even then I didn’t feel like she pushed me back that much and I was in control of the fight, but as my coaches explained, the coaches can see something different.
“If it’s a close fight and one girl is being more aggressive, they will award the fight to her. I left too much to chance and it’s something I will regret, but it’s something I’ll learn from.”
Harris is eager to put the disappointment behind her and focus on the future.
“I have been to the Comm Games before, and it would’ve been awesome go compete in Australia, but the world championships and the Olympics are next up and they’re higher again,” she said.
“If I wanted a medal, it would be at the worlds or the Olympics, not the Comm Games, because it’s harder. You’re fighting against everyone. There’s 12 girls in your division at the Comm Games, you could have 50 at the world championships.”