By Neto Baptiste
National boxer Alston Ryan has been eliminated from this year’s Commonwealth Games being held in Birmingham, England.
His exit from the games on Wednesday, followed a gallant effort that saw him dominate two previous opponents on his way to the quarterfinals where he was beaten by Ghana’s Abdul Wahib Omar who won the five-round contest by a 4-1 margin over the Antiguan.
Judges one, two, three and four all scored in favour of Omar, while judge five scored in favour of Ryan.
The Antiguan was beaten by a score of 30-27 in the first three rounds of the match before going under by a slim 29-28 margin in the fourth round. Ryan won the fifth and final round by a score of 29-28.
Triumph for the UK-based boxer would have guaranteed at least a bronze medal for the twin-island state as, according to boxing rules, fighters finishing third and fourth are awarded bronze medals.
Ryan advanced to the quarterfinal leg of the boxing competition after defeating John Brown of Sierra Leone on Sunday via unanimous decision after all five judges scored in his favour.
Previously, the Antiguan had gotten off to a winning start on Friday when he won via a 5-0 unanimous decision over Alex Michael Isendi of United Republic of Tanzania in the light welterweight division.