Ireland's Taylor wins women's lightweight gold

LONDON (AFP) –

Katie Taylor of Ireland celebrates defeating Sofya Ochigava of Russia to win gold during the women’s boxing Lightweight final of the 2012 London Olympic Games at the ExCel Arena in London.

Ireland’s four-time world champion Katie Taylor won the first women’s Olympic lightweight final with a 10-8 win over Russia’s Sofya Ochigava on Thursday to claim her country’s first London gold.

Having defeated Ochigava in May for her most recent world crown, the 26-year-old Taylor added the Olympic title to her world titles.

With the majority ExCel Arena crowd wearing the green of Ireland or waving an Irish tricolour, there were huge expectations on the softly-spoken brunette from Bray, County Wicklow.

Taylor had a nervy start as the first-round finished 2-all while the Russian took a 4-2 lead after the second with some solid blows, causing anxious looks in the Irish corner.

But an impressive display in the third saw Taylor up her work-rate to win the round 4-1 and take a 7-5 lead in the gold medal bout.

Katie Taylor of Ireland (in red) defends against Sofya Ochigava of Russia (in blue) during the women’s boxing Lightweight final of the 2012 London Olympic Games at the ExCel Arena in London. Katie Taylor defeated Sofya Ochigava to win gold.

Ochigava worked hard in the fourth and final round to try to close the gap and raised her arm in triumph at the final bell.

But Taylor was not to be denied, claiming the Olympic crown as the fourth round finished level at 3-3.

Having lost Wednesday’s semi-final bouts, Mavzuna Chorieva of Tajikistan and Brazil’s Adriana Araujo were the bronze medallists