Wales at the Commonwealth Games

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Wales boxing silver medallist Orlando Holley-Sotomi felt he could have been awarded gold after his 70kg final loss on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking after his split decision defeat against Northern Ireland's Jon McConnell, the light-middleweight said: "He was a good boxer, a good mover and he moved all three rounds.

"I felt the judges should have scored my aggression a bit more but sometimes, you can't always trust the officiating.

"You have to always give credit to your opponent and it's part of boxing."

Holley-Sotomi suffered a second-round one-point deduction for his head being too low but felt his opponent could also have been penalised.

"I felt he fell over how many times so he should have been warned," he said.

"It was only fair if I have a warning, he has a warning as well, but sometimes it's not fair."

Holley-Sotomi, who lost on his 23rd birthday, dedicated his medal to his father who died earlier this year.

He believes this Commonwealth Games is just the start of his career as he eyes a potential switch to the professional ranks.

"It means the world representing Wales," he said.

"I think I've proved to what type of exciting calibre of fighter I am.

"I think everyone should watch out. I might have a look at the pro game. Maybe we'll see a deal. Maybe Eddie Hearn or Frank Warren. Make some money.

"What I possess is one of the best right hands in boxing today is. So we'll see."

Image source, Team Wales

Team Wales will leave Glasgow without a Commonwealth Games boxing gold medal after heavyweight Connor Williams had to settle for silver.

The Swansea fighter was defeated by England's Isaac Okoh in the 90kg category final by a unanimous decision just after Orlando Holley-Sotomi lost his gold medal bout.

Williams has made a rapid rise since joining Welsh boxing's elite programme last year and silver might well have exceeded his expectations.

The Wales boxing squad finish the Glasgow campaign with four medals with Saturday's pair of silvers sitting alongside bronze for Rosie Eccles and Owain Harris-Allan.

Wales won six medals in Birmingham in 2022, consisting of two gold, three silver and a bronze.

They leave a Games without a boxing champion for the first time since 2014.

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Welsh light-middleweight boxer Orlando Holley-Sotomi secured a Commonwealth Games silver medal after a split decision defeat by Northern Ireland's Jon McConnell in the 70kg final.

The first round went 3-2 in Holley-Sotomi's favour but he lost the second round and also had a point deducted after earlier warnings by the referee for his head being too low.

Holley-Sotomi tried to force the decision in the final round and landed a blow on his opponent's chin.

But McConnell, who skipped the chance to be on Love Island to make his Commonwealth Games debut, was crowned champion by the judges as Holley-Sotomi lost on his 23rd birthday.

The Welsh boxing squad will finish with four medals after Rosie Eccles and Owain Harris-Allan had claimed bronze, while Connor-Williams is guaranteed a silver or gold as he prepares for his final straight after Holley-Sotomi.

Holley-Sotomi has been Wales' breakout boxing star of these games after starting with a last-16 victory over his more-fancied English opponent Paddy Hewitt.

The Newport boxer really announced himself in the quarter-finals with a thunderous first-round knockout of Lesotho's Refiloe Thai.

Knockouts of such brutality are rare in amateur boxing but the man nicknamed 'The General' looked every bit the professional.

His statement knockout set up a semi-final against Mauritius' Merven Clair, which he won unanimously to set up the final.

Holley-Sotomi was a promising rugby player when he first began boxing at 15.

He was in the Dragons rugby academy and picked up the sport in order to improve his fitness, and became a three-time Welsh champion before this Commonwealth campaign.

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Welsh record holder Charlotte Henrich finished fourth in the women's 400m final at Scotstoun Stadium.

The 19-year-old's time of 51.16 seconds was just 0.16 seconds off the medal positions in her Commonwealth Games debut.

The race was won by Jamaica's Dejanea Oakley in a time of 50.21, with Barbados' Sada Williams in silver and Nigeria's Ella Onojuvwevwo taking bronze.

Henrich said she was "so happy" with her effort in Glasgow:

"I'm not even frustrated I was so close to a medal," she said.

"I'm sure I'll look back on it and see if I could have done something else, but right now I've come fourth at my first Commonwealth Games, I couldn't have asked for more."

Henrich broke Michelle Scutt's Welsh record, which had stood since 1982, at the UK Athletics Championships in June and then again two weeks later at the London Diamond League event.

Earlier this week she was named to the British team to compete at this month's European Championships in Birmingham.

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Welsh Para-cyclist James Ball is guaranteed a silver and will race for a gold medal in the men's tandem B sprint final with pilot Matthew Rotherham later today.

Ball qualified third fastest this morning but needed just two of the three semi-final races to seal victory over Australian Kane Perris.

He will once again take on rival Neil Fachie in the final after the Scot claimed gold in Thursday's time trial, with the Welshman in second.

The 35-year-old will be hoping for a repeat of the 2022 final, where he defeated Fachie to claim his first Commonwealth gold.

"He'll get a massive boost from the crowd," Ball said of Fachie.

"It's inevitable really and I don't blame them. They are going to be fighting for it but we're going to fight right back."

Elsewhere, all three Welshmen, Rhys Britton, William Perrett and William Roberts, qualified for tonight's men's 10km scratch race final.

Medal hopeful Britton said: "I find the qualifiers a lot more nerve-wracking than the final.

"I'd love to get a medal and it's something that's pretty possible as long as we do everything right.

"It would mean the world, it's a lifelong dream. Representing Wales is the pinnacle, I've dreamed of it since I was a kid."

In the men's sprint, Ioan Hepburn, Steffan Lloyd and Jonah Jenkins finished 11th, 15th and 19th respectively, though Hepburn was pleased to set a new British junior record in qualifying.

"I'm absolutely over the moon," he said. "It's been a goal of mine for a good couple of years and to break that with a crowd like this is absolutely incredible."

Image source, Getty/Team Wales

The penultimate day of the Commonwealth Games is here and Wales will be looking mainly at medals in track cycling, boxing and athletics.

Team Wales have 24 medals so far with six gold, six silver and 12 bronze and they will add to that on day nine in Glasgow.

Emma Finucane will be aiming to build on her two gold medals from the opening two days in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, where James Ball and Anna Morris could also increase their medal tally.

Orlando Holley-Sotomi and Connor Williams are the two Welsh boxers to have made the finals so know they will leave Glasgow with silver or gold. The pair will know which colour by mid afternoon.

Four Welsh athletes are in action which includes a lunch time final for 400m runner Charlotte Henrich, while Jake Heyward is competing this evening in the men’s mile which could be one of the moments of the Games as home hero Josh Kerr looks to light up Glasgow.

Ava Lloyd competes in the final event of the track and field in the women's mile.

Ben Moore and Holly Devall are in judo action, while Amy Williams will be hoping to make the semi-finals of the women’s bowls singles.

Athletics

12:20: Charlotte Henrich, women's 400m final

19:05: Tom Walley, men's pole vault final

20:55: Jake Heyward, men's mile final

21:45: Ava Lloyd, women's mile final

Bowls

08:30: Daniel Salmon and Ross Owen, men's pairs, vs Jersey

16:25: Amy Williams, women's singles, vs Malaysia's Emma Saroji

Boxing

13:15: Orlando Holley-Sotomi v Northern Ireland's Jon McConnell, men's 70kg final

13:45: Connor Williams v England's Isaac Okoh, men’s 90kg final.

Judo

From 11:00: Ben Moore, men's -73kg

From 11:00: Holly Devall, women's -70kg

Track cycling

From 10:00: Steffan Lloyd, Jonah Jenkins and Ioan Hepburn, men's sprint qualifying (semi-finals and finals from 15:08)

From 10:42: James Ball and Matthew Rotherham, men's tandem B sprint qualifying (final at 15:00)

11:49: William Perrett, William Roberts and Rhys Britton, men's 10km scratch race qualifying (final at 18:20)

15:55: Anna Morris, Carys Lloyd and Jess Roberts, women's 25km points race final

16:33: Emma Finucane, Rhian Edmunds and Megan Barker, women's 1000m time trial final

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Wales boxer Owain Harris-Allan will leave Glasgow with the second Commonwealth bronze medal of his career after falling to a unanimous 5-0 defeat to India's Sachin in Friday's 60kg semi-finals.

The 22-year-old, who also took bronze in Birmingham in 2022, was aiming to become the third Welsh fighter to reach Saturday's finals.

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Emma Finucane made it a golden night for Wales when she sprinted to Commonwealth Games victory in Glasgow.

Finucane followed in the footsteps of compatriot Anna Morris, who won the individual pursuit.

Finucane defeated England's Sophie Capewell in the final, and fellow Welsh rider Rhian Edmunds claimed a brilliant bronze.

Capewell and Finunace were part of the Great Britain team sprint that won gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Finucane, Edmunds and Lowri Thomas were the Wales trio in the team sprint that beat Capewell's England to gold on the opening night of the track cycling.

Finucane qualified for the individual semi-final in style by setting a Games record of 10.322 seconds in qualification and defeating reigning Commonwealth and Olympic champion Ellesse Andrews with ease.

She beat Edmunds 2-0 in the semi-final and there was controversy between Malaysia's Nurul Mohammed Asri and Capewell.

Asri won the first race before she was disqualified in the second for delaying tactics, with Capewell then winning the decider to set up a Team GB finale.

Finucane proved a class apart, forcing Capewell to settle for silver, while Edmunds beat Asri for bronze.

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Welsh cyclist Anna Morris claimed Commonwealth Games gold in the 4,000m individual pursuit final in Glasgow before appearing to follow it up an hour later with a silver in the scratch before she was relegated off the podium.

Morris defeated England's Josie Knight in the pursuit final and claimed her gold medal on the podium.

She then rushed off for a scratch race that started 10 minutes later and eventually finished behind Australian winner Georgia Baker but was then demoted from the podium.

There was a rivalry between these Great Britain team-mates Morris and Knight in the individual pursuit.

They rode alongside each other in the team pursuit squad that won Olympic bronze in Paris in 2024.

Morris, a qualified doctor, then defeated Knight in the world final of the 2025 individual pursuit final as she defended her title.

The battle lines had been drawn in the morning session when Knight recorded the fastest qualifying time of 4:25.719, with Morris just outside in 4:25.817.

But Morris produced a commanding performance in the final to clinch gold in a time of 4:24:272.

This was the first time the event had been held over 4,000m in the Commonwealth Games having previously been a 3,000m contest.

Morris continued her remarkable evening by competing alongside Welsh riders Megan Barker and Carys Lloyd in the scratch and somehow still had the strength to finish second before her disappointment followed.

Morris was relegated for entering the sprinter's lane when her New Zealand opponent was already there.

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Wales have secured at least two silver medals in the boxing ring after dominant performances by Orlando Holley-Sotomi and Connor Williams.

Holley-Sotomi, fighting in the 70kg event, and Williams, in the 90kg division, won unanimous decisions within half an hour of each other on Friday.

Holley-Sotomi was first up and beat Mauritius' Merven Clair comfortably.

"I proved to myself what kind of fighter I am," he said.

"I'm a finalist of a major competition. I knew that since my first major, but I've proved it now.

"I'm proving it to everyone and now hopefully everyone's a believer in me."

Williams grew into his fight with Northern Ireland's Garyn McAllister and also won on all five scorecards.

"I knew I could do it," Williams said. "I've thought so much about this for such a long time, since Birmingham [in 2022]. I saw the Welsh team out there.

"I was telling my friends before I was even on the Welsh team that I was going to the Commonwealth Games, and now I'm here.

"I've thought about this for such a long time. I'm this close to my goal. I'm this close to my dream."

The pair will fight to upgrade silver to gold on a day of boxing finals on Saturday.

Owain Harris-Allan will hope to join them when he faces India's Sachin Sachin tonight.

Earlier, defending champion Rosie Eccles claimed bronze after falling to India's Arundhati Choudhary.

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Welsh teenage cyclist Ioan Hepburn raced in the keirin this afternoon after being too ill to take part in the men's sprint bronze medal final on Thursday evening.

The 18-year-old was due to compete alongside Lewis Oliva and Steffan Lloyd in the race for third place against Trinidad and Tobago.

Hepburn was withdrawn just before the race was due to start because of illness.

He was track side when the decision was made with his team-mates Oliva and Lloyd on the start line.

Trinidad and Tobago were awarded the bronze with Wales not racing and Hepburn left the arena distraught.

Team Wales said: "Ioan went from the track to hospital to be checked over.

"He was discharged shortly afterwards and has been medically cleared to race again."

Hepburn rode in two races but bowed out in the repechage.