It was a historic night in the boxing ring as John Docherty scored Scotland’s second Gold in Samoa, swiftly followed by Sean Lazzerini adding a third less than fifteen minutes later as all four boxers stepped onto the podium.
John fought a tremendous bout against Ben Whittaker of England but had a nervous wait during a long pause before he was announced as the 75kg champion. The roar that went up from the packed stand of Youth Team Scotland athletes and staff resonated around the hall as he leapt in the air in celebration.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “The Gold is coming back to Scotland! I just can’t believe how far I’ve come to get Gold. Now I’m aiming for the next Commonwealth Games, the senior ones in Australia and I’ll be going for that Gold again! I’m senior next year and this is going to give me a big boost.”
The crowd barely had time to catch their breath before they were celebrating another Scottish victory, Sean Lazzerini declared the 81kg winner after less than a round as he left his Tongan opponent reeling from a body shot.
“I’m just so happy I did it and I did it for Scotland,” he said. “I wish it had gone a bit longer than it did 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, I can’t put it into words. 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 came away with a Silver medal after coming up against a tricky opponent in Northern Ireland’s James McGivern.
“It wasn’t my best performance but he was the better boy on the day, said Billy. “I just kept walking onto his back hand, but you can’t win them all. I’m going home with a Silver medal, I didn’t come all the way to the other side of the world to go home with nothing. I think this medal is going to be the starting point and maybe at the senior Games I’ll upgrade it to a gold. I’ll put in the hard work and that’s something to aim for.”
Bronze for Kieran McMaster, completed the medal haul. “I was gutted not to be in the final,” he said, “but when you take a step back and realise you’re going home with a medal, it’s huge. I deserve it and I’ve worked hard for it and it’s all real now.”
Youth Team Scotland’s medal tally now stands at 19; three Gold, eight Silver and eight Bronze.
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