Welsh boxer Ioan Croft claimed gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games to ensure both he and his twin brother Garan return home with medals.
Ioan, 20, won gold in the men's welterweight boxing final for Wales on Sunday, defeating Stephen Zimba from Zambia to earn victory in a unanimous decision. The Crymych product battled his way through and withstood a last-ditch rally from his opponent in the dying moments of the final at the NEC Hall, before winning 5-0.
Ioan's identical twin brother Garan, who won boxing bronze in the light-middleweight division, was the first to congratulate his brother moments after the victory was announced, while their parents Liz and Cardigan ABC head coach Guy Croft watched on from the stands as 12 years of training and hard work came to fruition.
"It is a dream come true," said Ioan. "I have wanted to do this since I saw the guys do it in Glasgow [in 2014]. The last four years I have been very hard working towards this moment and I knew this going out tonight. It all came down to those nine minutes and it was punch perfect, it could not have gone any better. This week is only a small part of the journey."
Wales celebrated a record-breaking Commonwealth Games boxing tally of two gold, one silver and three bronze. It beat the one gold, two silvers and three bronze medals achieved at the 1958 Empire Games, the forerunner to the Commonwealths, in Cardiff.
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