OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kuala Lumpur | Tuesday 10.00pm.
SOUTH Africa bagged another two medals at the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia when cyclist David George took bronze and the shooters were on target for a silver.
George stuck it out through intense heat and humidity to finish third in 53min 56,00secs in the men’s 42km road time trial. “It was like an oven out there and I started to dehydrate in the final lap. But I was determined to get a medal after my disappointing fourth last time,” he said.
James Perry, the 18-year-old rider from Cape Town, rode superbly to claim fifth in 54:09,00 and Robert Hunter was 10th in 55:23,00.
Shooters Donne Potgieter and Val Martin scored a combined 1115 points in the sport rifle free positions pairs event on Langkawi Island, north of Kuala Lumpur. They finished just three points ahead of third-placed Scotland on 1112 and five points ahead of Australia in fourth. Canada won with 1133 points.
Flyweight Phumzile Mathyila has won through to the finals in the 51kg division and will become the first South African in 38 years to win a medal at a major international boxing tournament.
Mathyila, 23, earned a nail-biting 16-15 decision over Ghana’s Abdulai Amidu — a see-saw affair with the scores level at 12-12 going into the final fifth two-minute round. Helanded the winning blow in the final seconds.
Bantamweight Silence Mabuza and featherweight Siphiwo Nongqayi lost their quarter-final bouts. Mabuza dropped a 14-16 decision to Malaysia’s Adna Yusoh and Nongqayi was knocked out in the first round by Lynch Ipera of Papua New Guinea.
With the male shooters’ gold and bronze on Monday, SA had four medals by the end of Tuesday and were lying seventh overall behind Australia, Canada, England, Malaysia, India and New Zealand.