Tokyo Olympics: Tom Daly wins bronze in 10m platform, Jalal Yafai wins boxing gold | UK news

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Boxer Jalal Yafai of Team GB won the gold in the men’s flyweight final at the Tokyo Olympics, with Tom Daly taking the bronze in the men’s 10m platform.

Yafai beat Filipino Carlo Balam, defeating him in the opening round with a right-left straight and excelled in a high-octane contest to secure the referee.

An astonishing streak of performances concluded for the 28-year-old Birmingham boxer, who was competing in his second Olympics after losing his second match at Rio 2016.

Photo: Jalal Yafei celebrates winning the gold medal during the men’s fly-away final (48-52kg)

All five judges gave Balam the final round of the competition, but Yafai had made enough progress to secure four of the five judges’ cards.

And in further success for Team GB, the men’s Madison duo, cyclists Ethan Hayter and Matt Walls, took the silver behind Denmark.

For Daly, it was his second medal at the Tokyo Games after winning the synchro event last week alongside Matty Lee.

He came third behind Chinese divers Yuan Cao who won the gold medal and Jian Yang who took the silver.

“I’m very happy that these Olympics went the way they did,” said the 27-year-old from Plymouth.

“I feel like a different athlete, I feel like I’ve been through a lot of different things over the years.

“At the end of May, I didn’t even know if I would be participating in these games. I tore my meniscus and had knee surgery. I always dreamed that I would be fit enough to come back and dive in these Olympics.”

Dustin Lance Black, Daly’s husband, tweeted: “Are you kidding me?! Another Olympic medal! Two for two!”

He added, “So proud of you, my love! Now bring those medals home, my sweet hero.” The tweet was accompanied by the emoji for a ball of yarn – a nod to the diver’s penchant for knitting, as we’ve seen in the stands during these games.

are you kidding me?! Another Olympic medal! Two for two! So very proud of you my love! Now bring those medals home, my sweet hero. 🧶 pic.twitter.com/QMCvlQo0uD

Dustin Lance Black (@DLanceBlack) August 7, 2021

Yafai followed his older brothers Cal and Jamal in the GB Boxing Program and in Rio became the family’s second Olympian, losing to eventual bronze medalist Johannes Argylagos in his second fight.

After his victory, he told the BBC: “I trained hard, gave it my all. It shows if you do that you can get the rewards. I’m an Olympic champion and I’m over the moon.”

“I would like to thank everyone who has supported me, it is overwhelming.”

Image: Jalal Yafei said he was ‘over the moon’

Yvai was welcomed by fellow British national teammate Fraser Clark on his way to his gold medal.

“I could hear the big Fraser,” he said. “It’s his birthday today. He said to me before: ‘Go win the Olympic medal for my birthday’.”

The fighter plans to take his time before deciding on his future in boxing, adding, “I’m going to rest and relax with my friends and think about the next chapter after that.”

Alhamdulillah!!! My brother galalyafai is the Olympic champion!!! I’m lost!!! Olympic Champion!!! Olympic Champion!!!

– Kal Yafai (@iam_yafai) August 7, 2021

Brother Cale tweeted that he was “lost for words.”

Jamal wrote on Facebook: “My brothers, the night, the Olympic champion, galalyafai yessssssss.”

Cale was discharged from Beijing early in 2008 before being left out of the squad at London 2012 after pulling out of his second of three matches against rival Andrew Selby.

The European silver medal in Kharkiv in 2017 gave a first glimpse into the true potential of Yafai.

He booked his place in the Tokyo Olympics before the qualifying process was suspended in March 2020, alongside British boxer Peter McGrill.

Yafai came on his own in Tokyo, negotiating a difficult path to the gold medal match, starting with a convincing victory over Korion Sogomonyan of Armenia in his preliminary match.

The narrow win over Zambian Patrick Chinimba provided a fitting opportunity to refocus, and Yvai reaped the benefit in his next match when he beat former Cuban world champion Yospani Vitya.

Duly secured medal, Yafai went even better with a thrilling semi-final performance against Kazakh Saken Bebusinov.

But at Balam, he faced an opponent with a more impressive trajectory than his own, including a split decision victory over Ireland’s Brendan Irvine, as well as a split decision victory over Olympic champion Shakupedin Zoeroff in a quarter-final match that was cut short. due to injuries.

Photo: Carlo Balam used money from his first boxing match, aged 7, to buy food for his family

The story of Paalam is extraordinary in itself, a former trash hunter in the Philippine capital, Manila, who was persuaded to enter his first boxing match at the age of seven and used the money to buy rice for his family.

He refused to go down without a fight, landing with his left hand in the final seconds of the contest, but it wasn’t enough to deny Yafei a win.

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