Scottish bowler keeps Commonwealth Games medal hopes alive but dream over for inspirational Castlemilk boxer

The local hero, who hails from Inverurie, responded to a heavy 11-4 loss in the first set with an emphatic 12-1 win to force a tie-breaker as momentum swung in his favour, before shading the extra end to the delight of the home crowd.

Defeat to Fiji’s Rajnesh Pasad at the SEC on Saturday had left the 30-year-old with little margin for error in an extremely tough section of the draw. Banks will now round off his Group C campaign against England’s Sam Tolchard tomorrow after keeping his chances of progression alive.

“It was a crazy match,” a relieved Banks told The Scotsman. “I got absolutely hammered in the first set, Ross was catching it so much better than me. I changed the length of the jack and won the last two ends of the first set, which gave me a bit of confidence.

“I just started to find my rhythm in the second set and the tie breaker was always going to be anybody’s game. After losing my match yesterday, it was a case of just do everything I can to win today and thankfully I did.

“It’s a huge help having the home support here cheering you on, it really spurs you on. It’ll be another tough game against Sam, but I’ll just continue to do my best.”

Kernachan crashes out of Women’s 54kg Boxing round of 16

In Boxing, Stephanie Kernachan’s dream of Commonwealth gold was ended by Canadian Scarlett Delgado in the Women’s 54kg Round of 16.

Originally from Castlemilk but now fighting out of Falkirk’s Phoenix Club, the 33-year-old was enticed out of retirement towards the end of 2022 after her lifetime ambition of competing at the 2014 Games on home soil were shattered when Scotland elected not enter any female boxers that year.

Now appearing on the big stage over a decade later, Kernachan suffered an early exit at the hands of Delgado by unanimous decision, but spoke with an overwhelming sense of pride after finally getting the chance to turn a dream into reality.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work and dedication to get to this point” an emotional Kernachan reflected. “I started boxing just before I turned 15 and now I’m finally here competing at a Commonwealth games, it means everything. To miss out on all the previous Games was hard; 2014 would’ve been a dream because it was staged in Glasgow, but here we are now, so I’m just delighted.

“I knew I’d lost the first round but my jab started working in the second, even though I was two rounds down. I had nothing to lose at that point, I stayed calm and felt my experience started showing towards the end. I picked my punches and landed a few, but I was a wee bit messy at times. Unfortunately, the journey is over but hopefully I’ve inspired a younger generation of aspiring boxers.

“I had my friends and family here, which was brilliant. I received a couple of wee surprises beforehand including a sentimental keyring that my sister gave me. I could hear my best friend from America cheering as well, even though I thought she was away working on the ships out near the Bahamas. She must have got home early, so that was a nice surprise.”