Aoife O’Rourke, left, and Lisa O’Rourke of Ireland with their silver medals after their respective 70kg and 75kg IBA Women's World Boxing Championships finals in Niš, Serbia. Photo: Nikola Krstic/Sportsfile

Silver medals on the double for Roscommon sisters at world boxing championships

Roscommon sisters Lisa and Aoife O'Rourke are returning home from the women's world boxing championships in Serbia after each securing silver medals.

The Castlerea siblings faced Russian opponents in the decisive bouts last evening (Sunday), with both coming out on the wrong end of unanimous points verdicts.

Their achievements in winning world silver add to an impressive array of accolades which both have secured in recent years.

Lisa (22) previously won gold at the world championships in 2022, while Aoife (27) is a two-time Olympian and three-time gold medallist at the European championships.

At the world championships this week Lisa defeated opponents from Azerbaijan, Morocco and Kazakhstan before losing to Russia's Elena Grapeshina in yesterday's 70kg final.

Aoife, meanwhile, was the top seed in the 75kg category, and overcame opponents from Uzkekistan and Serbia before the final yesterday evening which was won by Russia's Anastasiia Shamonova.

The championships were held in Niš, Serbia, and the O'Rourkes were the sole success story for the Irish team, with the country's other six representatives each losing their opening bouts.