Team GB's Lauren Price and Ben Whittaker fought their way into the quarter-finals after dominant wins on Wednesday
Wednesday 28 July 2021 11:07, UK
Karriss Artingstall has guaranteed Team GB's first boxing medal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after qualifying for the bronze medal fight.
Artingstall defeated Australia's Skye Nicolson by split decision (3-2) in the women's featherweight division in Wednesday morning's quarter-final.
She is now set to earn at least bronze after progressing into the semi-final.
Artingstall was given problems by the elusiveness and skilfulness of Nicolson but shaded the fight with her work-rate and pressure.
Nicolson landed a good left hand and a right hook which edged the second round.
But the Gunner in the British Army never relented in her work-rate and got her reward.
The nip-and-tuck fight came down to Artingstall's pressure against Nicolson's counter-punching - they each raised their hand predicting victory but the result went to the Brit.
Lauren Price dismantled her first opponent to lay down an ominous marker.
The Team GB fighter won every round on every judges' scorecard to defeat Mongolia's Myagmarjargal Munkhbat via unanimous decision.
She forced Munkhbat into a standing count to underline her dominance.
Price battled into the quarter-finals where she will fight Atheyna Bylon of Panama, with the winner guaranteed a bronze medal.
Price is the No 1 seed in the bracket and one of Team GB's leading hopes for a gold medal in the boxing.
She also has 52 caps as a footballer for Wales and is a former world champion kickboxer.
Ben Whittaker's lovely jab steered him past Abdelrahman Salah Orabi AbdelGawwad of Egypt, the No 3 seed.
Whittaker reached the quarter-finals of the men's light-heavyweight bracket after a skilful unanimous decision win.
His bid for gold was boosted by the earlier elimination of the division's No 1 seed Bekzad Nurdauletov of Kazakhstan who was upset on a split decision by Imam Khataev of the Russian Olympic Committee.
