Leo Church milked the crowd and seized his moment to chalk up a classy Commonwealth Games boxing win.
Church, 19, took on Nauru’s Vi-J Tebouwa in a one-sided round-of-32 bout in the men’s 65kg category, dominating his opponent in a convincing victory.
The teenager, who boxes for Nightmare Boxing Club, has long been regarded as one of Scotland’s most talented youngsters, but this marks his graduation to the big stage.
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But it won’t get any easier. Next up is Zambia’s Emmanuel Kate, a bronze medallist at last year’s World Championships in Dubai and a silver medallist at the African Games.
“I just wanted to show everyone what I’m about,” said Church. “There will be tougher opposition to come, that’s for sure, and I’ll need to dig in, but it was important to make the most of this opportunity and get the ball rolling.
“I felt comfortable out there. Once I landed the first shot and settled into the bout, it helped me stay calm. I worked through everything we’d prepared, so I’m really happy with how it went.
“The support was brilliant and I really appreciate it. I was expecting a good crowd, but I wasn’t expecting so many people shouting my name. Hearing that when I walked out was really special.
“My next opponent is a very good operator, but I’ll start preparing right away. In boxing, you just never know what will happen.”
Aaron Cullen knew he’d been dealt a tough draw on his Commonwealth Games debut and was duly outclassed by India’s Jadumani Singh Mandengbam in the men’s 55kg category.
Cullen is making the transition from the talented junior ranks into the senior game after falling in love with the sport at Garnock Valley Boxing Club and made no secret of his disappointment.
Scotland’s 3×3 basketball men started their campaign with a confident 21-14 victory over Guyana and a 22-13 success against the Cayman Islands before going down fighting in a close encounter with Australia, the silver medallists from four years ago in Birmingham.
Fraser Malcolm has lost bronze-medal matches at each of the previous two Commonwealth Games but believes the home side are capable of going one better in front of a vocal home crowd despite the 21-13 defeat to the Boomers.
“It’s disappointing to lose that last game. We know Australia are a very good opponent, and they’ve had impressive wins today,” said Malcolm.
“We’re disappointed in the moment, but when you step back and reflect on the day as a whole, we won the two games we really had to win. Now we just need to regroup, refocus and go again on Sunday.
“We’re on home soil, and Australia came so close to winning the last Commonwealth Games. We went toe-to-toe with them for the vast majority of that game, so we have the belief and we know we can do it. We just need to put together a few more strong performances.”
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