Zaur Antia was able to celebrate his birthday with a very special guest - an Olympic gold medal

Last week, Zaur Antia, the famed head coach of the Irish national boxing team celebrated his 62nd birthday. 

At his home in Bray, Zaur was relaxed and in jovial mood as he welcomed guests to his party bash. 

This was also his own personal Olympic celebration. 

It was a long and challenging year at the high performance unit in Abbottstown as he prepared boxers to qualify for the Olympic games.

Ireland qualified ten boxers for the Paris Olympics and returned with one gold medal. 

However, for one reason or another our boxers were eliminated. 

Zaur paid tribute to all ten boxers and said the most of them will be back at future Olympiads and in Paris they will have gained very valuable experience.

Antia is now in Ireland just over 20 years and in that period he has coached ten boxers to return with Olympic medals, three of which were gold medals. 

Following his latest Olympic success through Kellie Harrington’s achievement of winning two consecutive Olympic gold medals, Zaur made this point.

“This was the greatest sporting moment of my life in Ireland.” 

That famous victory on a night never to be forgotten in Paris was reported in great detail by the Echo. 

On reading the report online, Zair said: “I was overjoyed with emotion and read it over and over again.” 

Dan O'Connell, the man who created the opportunity for Zair to come to Ireland has remained a personal friend, and was an invited guest at the party. 

Appropriately, Dan presented Zaur with a framed copy of the Echo report to which he replied he would cherish this very special gift.

Antia is now very settled in Ireland where he lives with his wife of 35 years. 

He has two sons and a daughter. 

He also has six grandchildren, four of whom he proudly says were born in Ireland. 

Originally, from Georgia which was once part of the Soviet Union, Antia has been involved in the sport of boxing since he was ten years of age.

Antia is now looking forward to the next Olympics in Los Angeles where 40 years ago in 1984, Kieran Joyce was unlucky to be deprived of a bronze medal. 

Zaur also reflected on the outstanding work of other coaches at the high performance unit, particularly Damian Kennedy. 

He also highlighted the tremendous work being done by Patricia Herbert and Ciara Plunkett.

The queen of Irish boxing, Kellie Harrington, marked Zaur’s birthday celebration by presenting him with a cake and a bottle of Irish whiskey. 

Zaur Anita has been a tremendous asset to Irish boxing, his success to date is legendary and Cork boxing will always be proud that it was a Corkman, Dan O'Connell, who first showed him the blue skies over the Emerald Isle.

Meanwhile, following another outstanding year for Cork boxing the work of all volunteers within the sport was acknowledged by the president Michael O Brien. 

He said: “In Cork over the last ten years, amateur boxing, through the great work of clubs, has enjoyed phenomenal national success.” 

“This is due to remarkable standards set by the clubs through its who are all volunteers.” 

O'Brien also paid tribute to the role of women in the sport. 

For years boxing was a male only dominated sport. 

However, over the last twenty years, this has changed dramatically with the introduction of female boxing. 

Cork boxing has attracted many women into the sport today. Many play a leading role within their clubs.

Cork boxing authorities were very quick to respond to the government recommended gender balance in Sport. 

Today on Leeside many clubs have leading female s. The county board is also comprised of many women with leading roles being played by a now very experienced quartet which includes Nicola Murphy, Louise Forde, Rose Murphy and Aine McLoughlin. 

Each of these women is playing a pivotal role in the everyday running of boxing in Cork. 

The combined work of all volunteers is demanding, particularly in a sport which now almost covers the entire year. 

However, the spirit of the Cork boxing family is thriving through the work of its volunteers throughout the city and county.

Once again, during the coming years, clubs will have an opportunity to apply for capital sport grants. 

This is a government led initiative to provide all clubs, within all sports throughout the country to apply for small or large grants depending on their requirements. 

This is indeed a very welcome opportunity for financial assistance.

However, there is one major anomaly which continues to create serious problems for the clubs. 

This is the very extensive and comprehensive application forms. These forms are couched in pure civil service language. 

The questions to complete are repetitive but from all different angles. 

Many have legal connotations and would need put at its simplest “A battery of lawyers” to dismantle into simple what exactly they require to establish.

This grant form filling application matter was raised recently with the Tanaiste Micheal Martin by of the county boxing board. 

This issue was put very plainly to the Tanaiste. 

He was told, and he agreed with, that clubs in all cases were looking for a simpler plain common sense application form. 

If the government are genuine in their endeavours to continue to sports then its time to create application forms which will comprehensively contain all questions but are written in plain everyday language that everyone can work with.