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Silver a 'missed chance' says boxer

DONEGAL boxer Jason Quigley has said silver in the world championships represents a missed chance.

He lost his middleweight final in Kazakhstan on Saturday and arrived home in Dublin yesterday.

The 22-year-old was the first Irish fighter to reach a men's world final and the second to claim a medal in Almaty, with light-heavyweight Joe Ward taking bronze.

Quigley said: "Whenever you train that hard and put your life into it and you are nine minutes away from being a world champion it is hard to take, not to take home a gold medal; whenever I step back and look at things I want to be happy with my achievement at the minute but it is a chance missed at becoming a world champion."

He was looking forward to tea and biscuits at home and said his reception from fans had been massive, his Facebook account crammed with congratulatory messages.

"These are the fun parts of boxing and the enjoyable parts of boxing, whenever you see your family and friends welcome you home, it is absolutely amazing," he added.

Quigley was knocked down in the first round and lost his bout with Kazakh boxer Zhanibek Alimkhanuly.