If Birtley Boxing Club was a country, they’d win more medals than most countries on the Gold Coast, according to lightweight Calum French.

The 22-year old showed no signs of nerves as he joined club mates Luke and Pat McCormack in the second round of the Commonwealth Games boxing competition - just one win from a guaranteed medal.

Boxers from Birtley make up a quarter of the England boxing team Down Under and French is determined to fly the flag from club and country.

And last year’s British champion and European bronze medallist underlined his podium potential with a unanimous victory over Pakistan’s Ali Ahmad.

“After Pat and Luke won I had to do it, there was no option,” said French. “We want three golds and see where that puts Birtley on the medal table.

“I really enjoyed it in there and nice to get the first one out of the way. It takes a while to get into your flow but I was straight into a rhythm, I started strong, maintained it and finished really strong too.

“We were going in a bit blind because we didn’t have any video on him and didn’t really know what to expect. I had to try and work him out pretty quickly and I think I did that.

“I took a little knock on my eye from his head. I didn’t feel any pressure, I always feel better the bigger the occasion is. I just wanted to relax and enjoy it and sort him out.

“It’s been an amazing experience so far, the best experience of my life. I still find myself sizing people up in the village, thinking ‘I might be fighting him’ and then I realise all the different sports that are involved here.”

Meanwhile, north-east Games veteran Paul Drinkhall need to rally himself to claim team table tennis bronze.

The 28-year old - who won world team bronze in 2016 - is competing at his third Games, having won team silver in 2010 and 2014.

He was downbeat after a shock semi-final defeat to Nigeria but, within an hour, was back to help his team defeat reigning champions and favourites Singapore to take the final stop on the podium.

“We didn’t dwell on the defeat, we knew we had a job to do to get a medal," he said.

“I’m really proud of how the team responded. We’ve been working so hard for this and we wanted to have something to show for it.

“My job was to go out there and win that first match and get a bit of confidence going.

“It’s my fifth Commonwealth Games medal and they are all very special. I’ve got the singles and doubles to come now, so the celebration can wait for a few days.”

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