Commonwealth Games: NI's Carly McNaul through as men's pairs one win away from bowls medal
- Published
McNaul, a silver medallist in 2018, is now one win away from at least a bronze in Birmingham
2022 Commonwealth Games |
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Hosts: Birmingham Dates: 28 July to 8 August |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV with extra streams on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport mobile app; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live and Sports Extra; live text and clips online. |
Northern Ireland boxer Carly McNaul is through to the quarter-finals of the women's light-flyweight division at the Commonwealth Games thanks to a gutsy split-decision win over Australian Kristy Lee Harris.
McNaul, a silver medallist in 2018, was rewarded for the busier work after Harris narrowly edged the opening two rounds on the judges scorecards.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's men's pairs team Martin McHugh and Sam Barkley are one win away from a medal in the lawn bowls.
Having made light work of Jamaica in their final pool match, Northern Ireland then dispatched of India in a one-sided quarter-final with a 26-8 win setting up a semi-final against Wales.
There was disappointment for the women's fours who missed out on a place in the semi-finals in a tense 15-12 loss to Fiji.
After trailing early NI roared back to lead 12-8 thanks in no small part to an inspired display from skip Chloe Wilson, but the Fijians dominated the final three ends to advance.
In the pool, Larne swimmer Danielle Hill finished seventh in the 50m freestyle final in 25.36 after narrowly missing out on a place in the women's 50m butterfly final.
Hill came ninth in the butterfly semi-finals with a time of 26.65 while Siomha Brady was seventh in the women's S8 100m backstroke final.
Kaitlyn McCaw clocked 28.07 to finish eighth in her heat and missed out on the semis, while Grace Davison did not start.
Bangor's Jack McMillan failed to secure a place in the men's 100m freestyle final after coming sixth in his semi-final in a time of 46.69 at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre pool.
McNaul advances to last eight but Tucker out
McNaul spent most of the three rounds on the front foot and threw far more combinations than her opponent, but it was Harris' clean single shots that caught the eye of the judges in the opening two rounds.
However Belfast's McNaul stayed aggressive and landed her body shots with greater accuracy in the final round to move into the last eight on a 3-2 split decision.
She will now face Sri Lanka's Keshani Hansika on Wednesday, with the winner guaranteed at least a bronze medal.
McNaul's team-mate Jake Tucker missed out on a quarter-final place as he missed out on a split-decision against Guernsey's Billy le Poullain.
The heavy-handed Le Poullain dropped Tucker with a thunderous left hand in the opening minute as he dominated the first round, before the Northern Irishman delivered a more controlled second to bring himself back into the contest.
However Le Poullain produced a late flurry that was crucial in swaying the judges scorecards in his favour at the end of a tight contest.
Northern Ireland were defeated 54-41 by Malawi in their netball match on Sunday while Hannah Trymble finished sixth in the final of the women's 59kg final.
Northern Ireland beat Australia 11-9 in an entertaining 3x3 wheelchair basketball game on Sunday.
It meant their group finished with all teams tied on points but they missed out on a place in the semi-finals because their victory margin wasn't high enough.