Vallily set for golden showdown in Delhi with Ward

The 25-year-old was due to fight 2006 bronze medallist Awusone Yekeni for a place in the gold-medal match, but in the lead up to the bout the Ghanaian withdrew with a shoulder injury.

Middlesbrough-born Vallily was forced to go through the formalities, climbing in to the ring to have his headguard and mouthguard inspected, before he was declared the winner setting up a showdown with British rival Steven Ward of Northern Ireland for gold.

And while Vallily was delighted to upgrade his guaranteed bronze to silver, he insists his job is far from done in Delhi.

"He probably saw my last fight that's why he pulled out," joked a relaxed Vallily, who won both his fights in India by knockout.

"I found out earlier on when I was in the stadium. I am not really bothered to be honest how I get there as long as I am on the big stage.

"I am really enjoying the whole games. It has been a brilliant experience but there's still one job left to do so that's the main thing really.

"It would mean everything to get a gold medal. Whatever happens I am definitely staying amateur for 2012. This has been a great experience and 2012 will be even bigger so that's where everyone wants to be."

Meanwhile, Sheffield diver Nick Robinson-Baker admitted he was always up against it after missing out on a medal in the 3m springboard event at the Commonwealth Games.

Robinson-Baker, who qualified fourth for the final, stood a chance of claiming a surprise podium place heading into the final dives only to over-rotate at the finish and place fifth with 435.50 points.

Canada's Alex Despatie racked up 513.75pts to claim his eighth Commonwealth gold medal, with compatriot Reuben Ross taking silver and Australian Grant Nel bronze.

But after reinventing himself as an individual diver following an injury to partner Ben Swain, Robinson-Baker refused to be downbeat over his display.

"It has been quite hard with my synchro partner Ben Swains doing his cruciate ligament in his leg which has meant I have had to learn individual as well," he said.

"It has been a tough year individually for me to make that transition.

"In synchro you specialise in two easy dives and four hard ones, in the individual you have to do six hard dives.

"All of a sudden I have to learn two new very difficult dives and then I got thrown in at the deep end and I had to go to the Europeans and the worlds and now the Commonwealths.

"That's the reason I was not really expecting to podium here because there are still two dives up there that I am not doing to the best of ability.

"This was my first Commonwealth Games though so my main aim was to come in and do everything to the best of my ability and then I can be happy."

Harrogate 15-year-old Jack Laugher finished in 11th.

Sheffield rugby player Tom Powell is still on course to help break New Zealand's stranglehold on the Commonwealth sevens title after storming through qualifying as pool winners.

The Kiwis are the only nation to win sevens gold at the Games but England began their campaign in devastating fashion by brushing aside minnows Sri Lanka 59-7 and Uganda 55-0, scoring 18 tries in the process.

The acid test was always going to come against Australia but Dan Caprice scored two sparkling tries as England, who won Commonwealth Games silver four years ago in Melbourne, hung on against the odds to triumph 21-19 in Pool D.

The result puts England into a quarter-final-tie against Group C runners-up Samoa with Australia taking on Kenya.

City of Sheffield pole vaulter Luke Cutts endured a miserable afternoon as he failed to make a clearance, failing with three attempts at 5.25m.

In squash, Sheffield's men's singles gold medal winner Nick Matthew continued his march to another medal when he and partner Adrian Grant saw off Canada's Robin Clarke and Shawn Delierre 11-4 11-2 to clinch a place in the quarter-finals of the men's doubles.

James Willstrop, from Leeds, and Harrogate's Jenny Duncalf can still go one better than the silver medals they won in their respective singles events after making it through to the last eight of the mixed doubles.

The second seeds made it through the qualifying phase despite a shock defeat in the second round of pool matches and went one stage further last night with an 11-4 11-2 win over Guernsey's Zephanie Curgenven and Henry Birch in just 13 minutes.

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