Stephanie’s a trailblazer
Boxer loved her trip to India
Ben Ramage Cleland Miners boxing trailblazer Stephanie Kernachan insists her trip to India will stay with her for the rest of her life.
The 26-year-old travelled to New Delhi to become the first Scottish woman to box at the World Elite Championships.
Not only did she break new ground, Stephanie was over the moon to find out she would proudly fly the Saltire at the opening ceremony.
Buzzing Stephanie said: “To have been given the honour of being the flag bearer in the opening ceremony and also become the first ever woman to box at the World Championships for Scotland has been amazing.
“The atmosphere in the stadium as I walked to the ring was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.”
Flyweight Stephanie was part of a three-strong team of Scots who travelled to India, alongside Vicky Glover and Megan Reid.
Despite putting on a strong performance against her South Korean opponent Euna Jang, Stephanie just lost out on a split decision.
She said: “At the end of an extremely close bout, the feeling for everyone was that it could go either way.
“I t ried to remain confident as the scores were gathered however my hand was not raised and I lost out on a split decision.
“I was disappointed that my journey was over so soon but I had to stay positive as my team mates Megan and Vicky were still to box.
“Vicky boxed against Belarus and secured Scotland’s first ever win on the world stage. Straight after her Megan made it a double celebration as she skillfully outboxed her Uzbekistan opponent.”
While both Vicky and Megan lost out in the next round, Stephanie is confident that they will all use the experience to get even stronger.
She is now preparing to put that new experience to use at the British Championships in Sheffield on Thursday December 6, where she faces Helen Jones of Wales.
She added: “With the competition part of our trip over, we made sure to make full use of the time we had left. Sparring was organised against several countries from around the world. We were also able to see some of India, take in the views and visit some landmarks.
“One thing I think we all learned is that we are not too far away from the top and with more time and experience, we will see Scotland’s women medalling at these tournaments and paving the way for the next generation of boxers.” Cleland Boys Club 2011 are looking smart thanks to their new sponsor.
The young side, who play at Ravenscraig every Sunday morning, are looking the part thanks to Glide-a-robe Wardrobes.
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Ben Ramage