BEIJING, August 19, 2008 (AFP) - Irish boxer Paddy Barnes said he was 'over the moon' after clinching his country's first medal of the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday.

Barnes beat Poland's Lukasz Maszczyk 11-5 in the light flyweight last eight to guarantee a bronze medal and set up a semi-final with Chinese world champion Zou Shiming.

The five-foot-seven (1.70m) Barnes said he had not even considered medalling before arriving in Beijing.

'It's brilliant, I can't believe it,' he said. 'I'm just so over the moon. It's an amazing feeling.

'To be honest I hadn't even thought about a medal. I was just proud to be able to call myself an Olympian.'

Barnes, 21, was backed by vocal Irish fans as he fought Maszczyk but will have to overcome deafening Chinese support in the Workers Gymnasium if he is to beat Zou.

However, he said had been hoping for a rematch with Zou after losing to him at last year's World Championships.

'Just fighting him is like getting a gold medal for me because since last year I've always been hoping I'd get him again,' he said.

'I've improved little by little but it's going to be ever so hard to beat him in China.'

Barnes said he has suffered from nerves here but added that he tends to raise his performances against tougher fighters.

'I think the nerves get to me over here. It takes a few seconds to switch on,' he said.

'But the better my opponents, the better I fight.'