Taylor claims Ireland's first gold (From Halesowen News)
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Taylor claims Ireland's first gold
5:29pm Thursday 9th August 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2013
Katie Taylor won Ireland's first gold medal of London 2012
Ireland's Katie Taylor added Olympic gold to her four World Championship titles - but she was made to work hard for her 10-8 win over Russia's Sofya Ochigava amid an extraordinary atmosphere at ExCeL.
With the decibel levels surely hitting new heights, Taylor set about business in her usual way, pushing forward and flinging right hooks at Ochigava, a tough, two-time former world silver medallist.
Heading into the last with a 7-5 lead, Taylor still had a fight on her hands as the Russian muscled forward, landing two clean rights, making the wait for the verdict a surprisingly anxious one for Taylor and her fans.
It soon became clear Taylor was in for a test as the Russian matched Taylor's strength inside and clinched up close to prevent the overwhelming Irish favourite from getting off her usual array of big shots.
Taylor's frustrations continued in the second, which Ochigava edged to take a 4-3 lead at the halfway stage, but the Bray star stayed patient and scored with a right to the Russian's chin and a superb countering left which turned the fight her way.
