‘He gave it his all, it’s just a pity he didn’t get gold’

TEARS of pride tinged with disappointment streamed down the cheeks of the devoted fans of Irish boxing star Paddy Barnes as the little man in red bowed out of the Olympic light flyweight semi-final.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the young Belfast boxing hero yesterday lost a nail-biting semi-final clash with Chinese gold medal favourite Zou Shiming.

Not once did Barnes’ devoted army of fans let nerves get the better of them as they chanted and cheered for the duration of the fight.