Delhi delight for South Yorkshire officer FORGET about kormas and masalas!

Monday, 18 October, 2010

For one South Yorkshire Police officer's Indian takeaway comprises a clutch of Commonwealth Games medals....and he hasn't even had to lift a finger.

Chief Inspector Shaun Morley, 44, is usually in charge of dealing with incidents in and around the Barnsley area.

But in recent weeks he's been thousands of miles away in Delhi managing the 12 wrestlers competing for England at one of the world's largest multi-sport events.

And his squad has done him proud, securing a gold, a silver and two bronze medals.

"We set a target of between three and six medals, so four's within that range," said wrestling performance director Shaun. "I would have to say that's a successful Games and the athletes should be justifiably proud of their achievements."

England's main opposition came from the host nation so unsurprisingly there were hardly any empty seats at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.

"The crowds at the wrestling have been awesome," continued Shaun, "with a capacity 8,000 crowd each day for the finals."

Terence Bosson got the ball rolling when he bagged a silver in the men's 60kg Greco Roman final, losing to local hero Ravinder Singh.

Then came that golden moment when Myroslav Dykun won the 66kg Greco Roman category, beating Canadian Jack Bond.

And Sasha Madyarchyk completed the set for England's wrestlers by taking bronze in the men's 60kg freestyle, followed shortly afterwards by Leon Rattigan in the 96kg freestyle.

Shaun, who started wrestling at the age of seven, has been crowned British Senior Champion five times, medalled at European and Commonwealth levels and is a qualified international referee in the sport.

"My long-term aim is for the squad to succeed at the Olympics," revealed Shaun, who will manage the GB wrestling team for 2012. "Winning a medal in your home country would be an outstanding achievement both personally and for the sport and our success at the Commonwealth Games has given us the perfect platform upon which to build."



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