The boxing competition at the Commonwealth Games came to a close on Aug. 1 with two Canadian boxers looking to finish atop the podium. Just one day after advancing to the finals, Scarlett Delgado and Marie Al-Ahmadieh returned to the ring with Commonwealth Games gold on the line.
Scarlett Delgado, from Brampton, Ontario, faced India's Preeti in the 54 kg final. Unfortunately for Delgado, Preeti proved to be a difficult opponent to solve. Preeti claimed a unanimous decision victory, earning Delgado the silver medal.
"This is not an easy tournament. We came in here against world-class athletes. I had four incredible fights, and I am more than happy to have gone in there and put what I have on display. When I come back for the next tournament, I am going to have an even better performance. That is just the nature of the game," said Delgado.
She went on to reflect on her tournament as a whole.
"I think I did well making adjustments in each fight for each opponent. When you are in the ring with such a high skill level, there isn't always time to figure it out in the moment. This (the gold-medal bout) is the fight I need to go back to the drawing board with, fine-tune a few things, and come back to represent my nation even better."
On her road to the final, Delgado defeated Scotland's Stephanie Kernachan in the round of 16, New Zealand's Greer Hall in the quarterfinals and England's Lauren Mackie in the semifinals.
Canada’s Marie Al-Ahmadieh faced India's Priya in the 60kg final. It was a tightly contested bout, but in the end the judges awarded a split decision to Priya, giving Al-Ahmadieh the silver medal.
"I think winning this medal is a pretty big deal. Obviously, I came here for gold, but being able to win a medal is a big accomplishment," said Al-Ahmadieh.
As the final Canadian boxer to begin her tournament, Al-Ahmadieh reflected on the anticipation leading up to her opening bout and her overall experience at the Games.
"If it were up to me, I would have started earlier. The long wait weighed heavily on my heart. Still, I went all the way to the final day, and while I did miss out on gold, I was thrilled to take part in the Games."
Al-Ahmadieh's tournament also included victories over Kenya's Rosemarion Otieno in the quarterfinals and Pakistan's Fatima Zahra in the semifinals.
With the boxing competition concluding, Canada's other medal-winning boxers also received their bronze medals during medal ceremonies at the venue. Edmonton's Joshua Ofori (men's 80kg) and Amber-Jane Wall (women's 51kg), also from Edmonton, were presented with their medals during ceremonies following their respective weight-class finals.