THE world now knows the name of Kiaran MacDonald.

The 25-year-old flyweight suffered a heart-breaking defeat in his gold medal bout at the Commonwealth Games as Indian boxer Amit Panghal took the victory and the podium top step with a unanimous points decision

A bad cut early on proved particularly problematic for the Sunderland fighter, who had breezed through his three previous fights to reach the final. MacDonald conceded he was beaten by the better man before insisting he will look back on his silver medal with pride after impressing on the international stage.

“I’m absolutely heartbroken, but you’ve got to step back, it’s a great achievement but as a fighter, you want to be the best and on top of podiums,” he said. “I’m bitterly disappointed but when I step back it’s a massive achievement. I’ve had some good fights and put my name on the world stage. Long may it continue.

“There were a few head clashes in the bout which disrupted my rhythm, but this is boxing, these things happen. Congratulations to him, he was better on the day, but my time will come.”

The Wearside warrior was hugely impressive on his road to the final, but the gold medal was a step too far as he lost the opening round of the final on all five judges’ scorecards and never recovered in a 5-0 points defeat.

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