More medals in bag for Britain
Three more British boxers guaranteed medals by winning their quarter-final bouts in the European Championships in Moscow, marking the team's most successful continental tournament since 1961.
Birmingham 18-year-old Gamal Yafai joined his brother Khalid in the last four while there were also wins for Thomas Stalker and Welshman Andrew Selby. All four, plus featherweight Iain Weaver, will box for final places on Friday.
Head coach Robert McCracken said: "We've got a young team and what they have achieved here in what is regarded as the toughest tournament in amateur boxing has been phenomenal."
He continued: "It is a great boost for our hopes looking ahead to 2012. It is going to get much harder on Friday but the lads are so full of confidence and they have all come on so well in training over the last few months."
Gamal pulled off a stunning 7-1 win over Ireland's 54kg World Championship bronze medallist John Joe Nevin. A superb display of counter-punching saw him breeze through to join 51kgs Khalid, who made it through on Tuesday.
Gamal said: "It's the best feeling ever to have guaranteed a medal in my first major senior tournament but I'm going for a place in the final and gold now. It's also great to have my brother getting a medal too."
Potentially Gamal could meet his team-mate Selby in the final after the young Welshman beat Turkey's Furkan Memis 4-1. Meanwhile Liverpool lightweight Stalker survived a countback scare to edge Latvia's Artjoms Ramlavs.
Stalker was not in the same form as he had been beating reigning world champion Domenico Valentino last time out and admitted he may have approached the fight feeling a little over-confident.
Stalker said: "I looked at my opponent and thought he wouldn't be too strong but he was better than I thought. But I got through and it's a great feeling to get a medal. I'm so happy to finally get a bit of luck.
"The confidence in this team is great. We have a real winning mentality. We used to walk past other teams like the Russians and fear them. Now it is the Russians and the rest who are fearing us."
Date published :
09 Jun 2010 - 17:38:42
