Boxing
Galal Yafai takes Olympic gold with stunning win over Carlo Paalam
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Galal Yafai finished a brilliant Olympic Games by collecting a gold medal with a superb win over Carlo Paalam. The brilliant Birmingham flyweight had been in sensational form throughout the tournament, and he saved his best performance for the defining fight as he was simply too good for his Filipino opponent.
Yafai got his final off to the perfect start as he found the shots to drop Paalam in the opening session. Displaying a relentless style from his first bout in Tokyo, Yafai maintained that strategy as he refused to let Paalam find the space to launch his own attacks.
With Yafai’s aggression giving him a big advantage, he used a similar approach in round two knowing that success in that stanza would give Paalam a mountain to climb in the final three minutes. Paalam did manage to close the gap in the closing stages, but Yafai was a clear winner as he returns to Britain with amateur boxing’s biggest prize.
"It's absolutely something I've always wanted to do," said Yafai to BBC Sport. "I'm Olympic champion and I'm over the moon. I've worked hard - six years ago I took up boxing and thank God it worked out for me and shows if you work hard, you can reap the rewards.
"Everyone back in Britain and Birmingham, the support I've received has been ridiculous and amazing. I'm just overwhelmed and so grateful for everyone who has shown me love."
