Walsh siblings & teen Eagleson seal Commonwealth medals

Belfast siblings Aidan and Michaela Walsh guaranteed themselves at least bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday.

Aidan Walsh won bronze for Ireland at the Tokyo Games for Ireland but he then had to withdraw from the semi-finals due to a freak ankle injury sustained when he was celebrating his victory in the quarter-final bout.

He progressed today after a split decision over England's Harris Akbar. Three of the judges gave him the nod in the opening two rounds, leaving Akbar requiring a KO in the last to snatch victory. Walsh closed it out to deny the reigning European light-middleweight champion and give himself a real chance of claiming gold.

He's next in action on Saturday against Welshman Garan Croft.

Michaela Walsh sealed featherweight bronze with an impressive defeat of Keamogetse Sadie Kenos of Botswana. She will box for silver against Phiwokuhle Sbusisiwe Mnguni of South Africa on Saturday.

It means Walsh is now Northern Ireland's most successful ever Commonwealth Games fighter, with three medals in the bag.

A third Northern Irishman, 19-year-old Dylan Eagleson, secured bronze in the bantamweight quarter-final when he outclassed Mozambique's Armando Sigauque.

Eagleson won silver at the European Championships in Armenia in May. He takes on Scotland's Matthew McHale in the semi-final.