TEAM SCOTLAND continued their medal rush on day four of the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa, winning six medals to take their tally to 20. Scotland’s boxing team in particular produced some outstanding performances to claim four medals including two golds.
Swimmer Erin Robertson had won Scotland's only gold at these games before boxers John Docherty and Sean Lazzerini trebled that total. Docherty, a 17-year-old from Montrose who trains at Byron Boxing Club defeated England’s Benjamin Whittaker in the 75kg final.
"It’s an unbelievable feeling – the gold is coming back to Scotland!” said the teenager who just last month was invited to join the GB boxing programme. “I just can’t believe how far I’ve come to get gold. Now I’m aiming for the senior Commonwealth Games in Australia [in 2018] and I’ll be going for that gold again! I’m a senior next year and this is going to give me a big boost."
Just 15 minutes later, Lazzerini added another gold medal when he defeated his Tongan opponent, finishing the bout inside the first round with a strong body shot. The Glaswegian from Bellahouston Boxing Club was on good form going into the final having also won his semi-final inside the first round and he wasted no time in securing gold. “I’m just so happy I did it and I did it for Scotland,” the 18 year-old said. “I wish the fight had gone on a bit longer but I did the job I came here to do and got that gold medal. It means the world to me, it feels amazing, I can’t even explain it. When the national anthem was playing and the flag was going up I could feel tears. I absolutely loved it, I could do it all again tomorrow.”
Billy Stuart from Banff could not emulate his team-mates’ success, losing his final bout in the 56kg class to Northern Ireland’s James McGivern to take silver while Kieran McMaster from Kilmarnock claimed bronze in the 64kg class to ensure that all four members of Team Scotland boxing squad will leave Apia with a medal.
There was further Scottish success in the pool where Meg Finnon won her second medal of the Games. She claimed silver in the 800m freestyle to add to the silver she won in the 200m butterfly earlier in the week.
Tennis players Ewen Lumsden and Louie McLelland won silver in the mixed doubles losing out to the Indian top seeds, Dhruthi Venugopal and Sasi Mukund, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the final. Lumsden has the opportunity for revenge though when he plays Mukund in the boys' singles final.
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