? Elbow injury forces 21-year-old to withdraw
? Would have been favourite in 52kg flyweight division
England's boxing gold-medal hope Khalid Yafai has become the latest high-profile athlete to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games due to a long-standing elbow injury.
Yafai, a European silver medallist, had travelled with the rest of his team to their holding camp in Thailand despite fears that the injury might rule him out of the competition.
But Yafai, who would have started favourite in the 52kg flyweight division, was finally forced to admit defeat in his quest today. Announcing the news on Facebook, Yafai said he was "gutted".
The absence of the 21-year-old is a major blow to the England boxing team's hopes of matching the five gold medals they claimed in Melbourne four years ago.
Although no replacement will be named for Yafai, it is possible Tommy Stubbs, from Liverpool, could move up from the 48kg division to box at the higher weight.
No comments:
Post a Comment