MICHAELA Walsh paid tribute to brother Aidan as she guaranteed a fourth Commonwealth Games medal on Wednesday.
The defending featherweight champion had to wait in the wings through five days of competition before finally getting to step between the ropes in Glasgow – 12 years on from her first Commonwealths in the same city.
Walsh won silver that time, and a straightforward victory over Scottish teenager Lara Brown ensured she will bring home at least bronze this time around.
The 33-year-old showed all her experience and ringcraft to outfox the home favourite en route to a unanimous decision win – setting up a 57kg semi-final against Fiji’s Jasmine Daunakamakama, with whom Walsh shared the ring during a recent training camp in Belfast.
This is the first time since Glasgow 2014 that the west Belfast woman hasn’t shared the competition journey with younger brother Aidan, who decided to hang up his gloves last year.
However, the Olympic bronze medallist – and Birmingham 2022 light-middleweight champion – is still by her side, fulfilling a different role as athlete support lead to the Team NI boxers.
“My biggest benefit is having Aidan here.
“He’s the athlete support lead now, but he was already doing that for me for years, even when he was in competition.
“I would say that’s the main reason I’m still boxing today. To have him, and have the coaches here, is phenomenal and I lean on them all the time.”
And while Walsh has an incredible Commonwealth Games record – two silvers and a gold – she insists her focus is not on where she ends up on the podium at the fourth time of asking.
“Everyone’s asking me about the medal, and I know it sounds a bit crazy, but I’m not here for a medal – I’m just here to perform to the best of my ability, and if that puts me on the podium or not, whatever may be.
“Medals don’t define your happiness, they maybe give you happiness for a day or two, but they’re not the be all and end all. I’m just here to be the best version of myself and if that’s what gets me on the podium, that’s what will be.
“I have medals in the house and I don’t even know where they are. Obviously it’s a great achievement, I’m not taking away from that, but there’s bigger things going on in life than boxing.
“Somebody comes out a winner, somebody comes out a loser, but we’re all winners in life. I’m just grateful and happy to be here.
“Whether there’s medals or not, I hope I’d still be the same person I was when I came on.”
It wasn’t to be for Caitlin Fryers, however, as she lost out in a scrappy quarter-final encounter with India’s Sakshi Chaudhary.
The Indian flyweight used her height and reach advantage to take control with a ramrod jab, with Fryers frustrated by her opponent’s constant holding any time she closed the distance.
Chaudhary was eventually given a warning and docked a point in the second round, but the tone had already been set by then as Fryers found herself chasing after a first round that one judge inexplicably awarded to Chaudhary, 10-8.
“It was difficult,” said the Immaculata pocket rocket.
“We sparred in the camp and we tried to work off that… she did move a bit more than we expected, but I’m happy enough with my performance.
“The judging’s been wild this whole competition. We never knew what way the scores were going to go… I thought she could’ve got another warning. Even in the first round, I thought he could have done more from the get-go, but he let her away, let her away.
“She got one in the second round but she could have got at least another warning after, the holding and pushing... but you can’t decide what they [referees] do.
“I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t medal, that was the plan, but I got the best opponent in the quarters, so I’ve gone out to the best girl in the weight.”
There are three more Team NI boxers in action on Wednesday, with Jude Gallagher - who opened up the defence of his 60kg titleagainst Pakistani southpaw Qudrat Ullah - going up against rangy Zambian Albert Ngulube for a medal.
Former jockey Jansseen Hill, meanwhile, faces a daunting prospect in the shape of England’s 2025 World bronze medallist Chantelle Reid in her light-heavyweight quarter-final, with Gilford super-heavy Willie John McCartan – ‘the Drumnascamph Destroyer’ - meeting Ghana’s Daniel Plange in the 91+kg quarter-final.
Earlier in the day it was confirmed that Holy Trinity’s Jon McConnell had received a walkover into Friday’s semi-final, after 39-year-old Bahamian Carl Hield failed to weigh-in ahead of Wednesday night’s scheduled quarter-final.
McConnell meets the winner of Wednesday evening’s clash between Marion Ah Tong (Samoa) and Sonny Kerr (Scotland) in Friday’s semi-final.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, July 29
7.15pm - women’s 70kg quarter-final: Jansseen Hill v Chantelle Reid (England)
7.30pm - men’s 60kg quarter-final: Jude Gallagher v Albert Ngulube (Zambia)
9pm - men’s 90kg+ quarter-final: Willie John McCartan v Daniel Plange (Ghana)
Friday, July 31
11am - women’s 65kg semi-final: Kaci Rock v Caitlin Rainey (Scotland)
2.30pm - women’s 57kg semi-final: Michaela Walsh v Jasmine Daunakamakama (Fiji)
4.15pm - men’s 70kg semi-final: Jon McConnell v Marion Ah Tong (Samoa)/Sonny Kerr (Scotland)
4.30pm - men’s 90kg semi-final: Garyn McAllister v Connor Williams (Wales)
