English amateurs all fall at the finals hurdle
GB Boxing's European Championship finalists took silver podium places in Moscow today, after three courageous performances against some of Europe's toughest boxers.
Khalid Yafai and Tom Stalker struggled to score despite bold efforts against strong Russians boxing on home territory, and Iain Weaver was unlucky in his major championship debut against Germany's experienced Denis Makarov.
Khalid's 51kg bout was an incredibly tense contest in which the scores were 0-0 after round one, and the Russian was awarded the points necessary to take gold. Khalid delivered another accomplished performance which on another day and in another venue might have been enough, but on this occasion he lost 4-1.
At the beginning of their 57kg bout, neither Iain Weaver nor Denis Makarov (Germany) wanted to give anything away. The second round saw more action, with Weaver unlucky to be trailing 3-2 at the end of the round. In the final round, Iain sought to get back into it, but the judges continued to score points for the German who finished with a 7-2 win. The twenty-year-old takes home a silver medal from his senior major championship debut.
At 60kg Tom Stalker lost 8-4 to Albert Selimov (Russia). Ending the first round 4-1 down, Tom rallied in the second to get the score back to 4-3. However the Russian ended the round 6-3 up, and despite a valiant effort it wasn't to be, with Selimov finishing with an 8-4 win.
GB Boxing Programme Director Matt Holt said: "On another day, GB could so easily have left with gold medals. However, three silver medals and two bronze medals in the European Championships in Moscow, with a young and inexperienced team, not only represents an achievement of great magnitude, but also bodes well for the future of British amateur boxing as we approach London 2012. It's been an absolutely magnificent performance of skill, dedication, commitment and style."
Welshman Andrew Selby and Birmingham boxer Gamal Yafai both leave Moscow with bronze, bringing the medal tally to five - the best a British team has done in a European Championships in decades.
Information courtesy of the BABA
