Belfast boxer Aidan Walsh is guaranteed at least a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics after defeating Merven Clair of Mauritius in his quarter-final.

Walsh will fight Great Britain’s Pat McCormack in his semi-final on Sunday.

Team Ireland said Walsh sustained a “slight” ankle strain when celebrating his win but added they are confident he will be fit for Sunday’s fight.

“He’s fine, just a little bit of a scare,” Olympic Federation of Ireland chief executive Peter Sherrard told RTE.

“They’ve had a good look at it and feel that he’ll be ready and fighting fit so that’s the important thing and great news ahead of that big fight.”

Walsh, 24, won the first round on all five judges’ scorecards and while his opponent battled back, the decision was awarded to Walsh on a 4-1 outcome.

Number one seed McCormack has previously beaten Walsh at the Commonwealth Games, World Championship and European qualifiers.

Walsh was composed throughout his quarter-final, repeatedly catching his opponent on the counter and landing some punishing straight right hands.

Southpaw Clair had occasional joy with his looser style but Walsh was able to sit back and pick off his opponent in the second and third.

Three judges gave the fight 30-27 to Walsh, one 29-28 and the last scored it 29-28 to Clair.

“This is going to be with me for the rest of my life. I can’t thank everyone enough for their support,” Walsh told BBC Sport after his win.

“It hasn’t even sunk in that I’m at the Olympics. You don’t know until the referee puts your hand up.”

Team Ireland’s previous two medal successes had come in rowing – a bronze for the women’s lightweight four and gold for Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy in the lightweight men’s double sculls.

Harrington and Barr progress

In boxing, Ireland’s number one seed in the women’s lightweight division, Kellie Harrington, made it through her round of 16 bout against Italy’s Rebecca Nicoli on a unanimous decision and will secure a medal if she wins her next bout.

Irish athlete Thomas Barr progressed to the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles, finishing second in his heat behind world-record holder Karsten Warholm.

Barr, who finished fourth in the Rio 2016 Games, clocked 49.02 compared to Warholm’s winning time of 48.65.

The Irish runner was the 11th fastest of the 23 qualifiers and will go in the second semi-final at 11.15 BST on Sunday.

Ireland’s mixed 4x400m relay team secured qualification for the final in the new Olympic event as their fourth place in the first semi-final ultimately proved enough to clinch a fastest loser’s spot.

Immediately after the heat, Ireland were promoted to second spot because of the disqualifications of the USA and Dominican Republic quartets but while they were later reinstated, it didn’t prevent the Irish from securing a final berth.

The Irish team – Cillin Greene, Phil Healy, Sophie Becker and Chris O’Donnell – crossed the finishing line in fourth place with only the top three securing automatic qualification after producing a new national record time of 3:12.18 which cut nearly four seconds off the previous national mark.

The reinstatement of the US and Dominican Republic quartets left the Irish as the slowest qualifiers for the final which will also include Great Britain after they came fourth in the second semi-final won by Poland.

Nadia Power, Louise Shanahan and Siofra Cleirigh Buttner were all in action in the 800m heats, but all three of them finished seventh in their races and bowed out after disappointing performances.

Shanahan was the fastest of the trio but her time of 2:03.57 was not enough to see her progress.

In sailing, Annalise Murphy will not repeat her Rio 2016 heroics after missing out on the Laser Radial medal race.

Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove lie 14th overall in the 49er class and have three more races on Saturday to try and make it into the top 10 and progress to the final.

The silver medallist from four years ago came into Friday’s final two races in 14th, having made up ground after a slow start to the week.

However, Murphy was unable to force her way into the top 10, with finishes of 30th place (after a penalty turn) and 40th meaning the 31-year-old from Dublin finished in 14th overall after 10 races.

Irish rower Sanita Puspure withdrew from the single sculls B final, revealing that she has been unwell for several days.

Puspure was expected to challenge for a medal in Tokyo but trailed home in fifth place in her semi-final.

In the pool, Danielle Hill finished sixth in her 50m freestyle heat, 33rd fastest overall out of a huge field of 83 entrants, with only 16 progressing to the semi-finals.

Daniel Wiffen won his heat in the men’s 1500m freestyle, breaking his own Irish record by over nine seconds in 15:07.69 – previously it was 15:16.90.

He will not make the top eight to progress to the final however despite his impressive performance.