Cully strikes gold

Kildare flyweight Gary Cully claimed gold at the 38-nation European Youth Championships in the Netherlands on Saturday night.

The Naas southpaw, who boxes out of St David’s BC, beat Masud Yusifzade of Azerbaijan on a unanimous decision to finish on top of the 52kg podium.

Antrim bantamweight Kurt Walker was edged out in his bid from gold by Yusifzade’s compatriot Nasraddin Mammadov. Mammadov was handed a split decision after a very close 56kg decider.

“We’re absolutely delighted for Gary,” said Irish coach Billy McClean. “He was technically brilliant throughout this tournament and totally deserves his gold medal.

“But we’re despondent for Kurt. He was brilliant and we thought he did enough to win the gold but it went against him.

“It’s fantastic to hear the Irish anthem being played again. As a whole, the Irish squad were outstanding here this week and everyone one of them gave it absolutely everything.”