Commonwealth Games: Ioan and Garan Croft both guaranteed to win boxing medals for Wales

Welsh identical twins Ioan and Garan Croft both secured boxing medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Northern Irish brother and sister Aidan and Michaela Walsh also won their quarter-finals to clinch bronze medals.

Later, Amy Broadhurst did the same in the women's lightweight, ensuring Northern Ireland equalled their record medal haul at a Commonwealth Games.

Nine other athletes from the home nations won their quarter-finals on Thursday to guarantee medals.

Scotland's Matthew McHale and Northern Ireland's Dylan Eagleson will meet each other in the bantamweight semi-finals.

Another all-British semi-final match sees Wales' Jake Dodds meet Kiaran MacDonald in the men's flyweight.

England's Gemma Richardson - on her 21st birthday - and Lewis Williams along with Scotland's Tyler Jolly also secured medals in Thursday's day session.

Welsh teenager Owain Harris-Allan, 18, won his bantamweight quarter-final to clinch a medal in his first major tournament, before English super-heavyweight Delicious Orie ended a wonderful day for the home nations with a dominant win over world bronze medallist Nigel Paul of Trinidad and Tobago.

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Twins 'expected' to be challenging for medals

Ioan Croft, 20, defeated Malawi's Luwis Mbewe with a second-round stoppage win in his welterweight quarter-final before Garan Croft beat Merven Clair of Mauritius at light-middleweight 45 minutes later.

With Ioan ringside at the NEC, Garan had to recover from losing the opening round on four of the five cards, but produced a number of powerful right-hand shots to take the next two with a clean sweep to win it 5-0 overall.

"It's very special, but without bragging we hoped and expected to be in this position," said Garan Croft.

"I believe the two of us can go all the way in this tournament."

Michaela Walsh defeated Keamogetse Kenosi of Botswana 5-0 to move into the semi-final in the women's featherweight division for her third Commonwealth Games medal.

Walsh already has two silvers to her name after losing to England's Nicola Adams in the 2014 flyweight final and then again to Australia's Skye Nicholson four years later at featherweight.

Aidan Walsh followed his sister in securing a medal, just as the pair did in 2018, although he had to dig deep to claim a 3-2 win over European amateur champion Mohammed Harris Akbar of England.

Michaela Walsh already has two silver medals from previous Commonwealth Games

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