TeamNI | Commonwealth Games Team announced.

Team NI has named a 12 strong boxing squad for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Team NI topped the medal table in the ring four years ago in Birmingham with 5 golds and silver and a bronze. Boxing is Team NI’s most successful sport, having won 61 CWG medals, of which 13 are gold.

Double Olympian Michaela Walsh and Paris Olympian Jude Gallagher return to defend their titles in Glasgow.

It will be Walsh’s fourth Commonwealth Games having started her journey 12 years ago in Glasgow when she won a silver medal. Four years later at the Gold Coast in Australia Walsh won another silver. In Birmingham Walsh topped the podium by beating Elizabeth Oshoba in the final to win the featherweight gold medal.

Gallagher was crowned featherweight champion after his opponent in the final Ghana’s Joseph Commey was unable to fight.

JP Hale and Nicole Clyde, fresh off the back of a win in last weekend’s Ireland V Sweden International, also return for the squad that competed in Birmingham and there are eight boxers competing at their first Commonwealth Games. JP’s clubmate, Louis Rooney, is also named in the team. He is a two time Boxing Ireland Elite champ, and a mutiple European U23 medalist.

At 65kg, Kaci Rock, has boxed internationally at European Elite and European U23 levels. Jon McConnell, Kaci’s Holy Trinity clubmate, fills the male 70kg berth – he’s an Elite champion, and has boxed internationally at World Boxing Cup, at Strandja and recently won gold at the Tammer tournament representing Ulster. Janseen Hill rounds-out the Holy Trinity troika – she’s the reigning Ulster Elite champion.

Coach Liam Corr is confident the strong can emulate the team from four years ago and bring home plenty of medals. “Birmingham was a great achievement, it was a great team, well decorated team before we went and it couldn’t have went any better, it was a great performance for even the ones that didn’t medal, it was great to be a part of it,” stated Corr. “It is a strong team going to Glasgow, you only have to look it, it’s well decorated too, you have some Olympians on it, you have some previous games medallists, you have some European medallists, some world medallists, you have some U23 medallists and then you have some who are just on the international scene, but they’re here for a reason and they’re boxing for Ireland at an international level as well.”

“Anything’s possible when you’ve got talent and the team’s fully talented and fully ready to go, so better luck with the draw, who knows what could happen, it could happen.”