FOUR Team NI boxers bid to secure Commonwealth Games medals today – with Jude Gallagher aiming to carry on the momentum from two impressive wins so far to book a semi-final spot.
The Newtownstewart featherweight has been one of the stars of the competition so far, with Matchroom head honcho Eddie Hearn among those sitting up and taking notice, name-checking the 20-year-old in a tweet yesterday morning.
Gallagher had already outfoxed Swaziland’s Zweli Dlamini before Monday night’s annihilation of home favourite Niall Farrell, repeated right hands forcing the Birmingham boy to take two standing counts before the referee brought the contest to a close.
And this evening the Tyrone tornado can secure at least a bronze medal when he takes on Pakistan’s Ilyas Hussain. He has shown some power on the way to this stage too, stopping Lesotho’s Moroke Mokhotho in the second round before edging a 3-2 split decision against Anthony Joseph of Trinidad and Tobago on Monday night.
First up today is minimumweight Nicole Clyde, who faces a daunting task against India’s two-time World youth champion Nitu Ghangas.
The pair are well acquainted with each other, having shared the ring during a pre-Commonwealths training camp in Jordanstown, but 19-year-old Clyde has grown in stature during the months spent preparing for these games.
Victory would guarantee a medal, but Ghangas is considered a worthy successor to the legendary Mary Kom – conqueror of Belfast’s Kristina O’Hara-McCafferty in Gold Coast final four years ago – and goes in as a strong favourite.
Carly McNaul follows them into the ring and, having won flyweight silver on the Gold Coast four years ago, should be too strong for experienced Sri Lankan Keshani Hansika in her quarter-final bout.
NcNaul came out the right side of a tough opener against Australia’s Kristy Harris on Sunday, but the east Belfast woman tends to grow into competitions.
Like McNaul, 31-year-old Hansika – who competed at the 2014 and 2018 Games - has had to drop down in weight for this Commonwealths, from 57 kilos to 50 in the past year. The winner will go into a Saturday semi-final against the winner of the contest between Teddy Nakimuli (Uganda) and Sara Haghighat-Joo.
Should the latter progress, it would set up an interesting last four clash as Haghighat-Joo – a three-time Canadian champion representing Sierra Leone at these Games – is actually a reigning Irish champion at bantamweight.
The 28-year-old has relocated to Ireland in recent years after marrying a Galway man and, boxing out of the St Brigid’s club in Edenderry, had hoped to force herself into the 2020 Olympic frame for her adopted homeland.
The final Team NI boxer into the ring this evening is Immaculata’s comeback queen Eireann Nugent.
Prior to her bout at June’s Eindhoven Cup, Nugent’s last competitive outing between the ropes was against Olympic champion Kellie Harrington way back in 2011. Having returned to the sport last year, the 31-year-old – granddaughter of Mac legend Gerry ‘Nugget’ Nugent – competes at light-middleweight in Birmingham, but the draw has not been kind.
Having been handed a bye into the last eight, Nugent faces England’s Jodie Wilkinson, though she can take encouragement from her opponent’s below-par performance in the last 16.
Former rugby league player Wilkinson - a 999 operator - had to answer her own emergency call, coming from behind to snatch a split decision victory over Nigeria’s Bolanie Shogbamu.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
48kg quarter-final: Nicole Clyde v Nitu Ghangas (India) – 12.15pm
50kg quarter-final: Carly McNaul v Keshani Hansika (Sri Lanka) – 12.30pm
57kg quarter-final: Jude Gallagher v Ilyas Hussain (Pakistan) – 7pm
70kg quarter-final: Eireann Nugent v Jodie Wilkinson (England) – 8pm
