David Light reached the finals of the heavyweight boxing division today by winning a fight he thought he might well have lost.
The Aucklander won a really tight decision over Scottish favourite Stephen Lavelle. Each of the three judges gave him the decision 29-28, to the disappointment of the parochial crowd.
I thought I might just have nicked the second, and I thought I won the third, Light said, but I wasnt confident and neither was my corner.
If ever there was a case of a decision going the home favourites way, this appeared as if it might be the one, but the 22-year-old Light was delighted and somewhat surprised to have his hand raised by the referee at the end. I cant describe the feeling. To be in the final after winning such a close bout was a big relief.
It was a rugged, physical battle throughout, with a lot of holding, and good, aggressive intent from both boxers.
Light had to sit through a whole programme of bouts and did not hop into the ring until nearly 10pm.
It was a very long day, he said. In fact, I kept falling asleep in the dressing room waiting. To go from that to stepping in the ring and fighting at that pace took a lot of energy.
He said the crowd was a bigger factor than he expected.
I thought Id be able to block it out, but it was very loud. I was able to channel some of the noise though, and get some energy from it.
The New Zealander said he had been hoping to have some sort of medal to take home, a reward for all the hard work he had put into his boxing career over the years. To get the chance to go for the gold is even more special.
In the final tomorrow he meets Canadian Samir El-Mais, who showed good movement and plenty of power in his semi-final.
Light will draw strength from his team-mates.
The boxing team here is very close. We support each other and our successes encourage each other. It really helps to know youve got them in your corner.