Great Britain name a 12-strong squad for the upcoming gymnastic World Champs while Joe Joyce loses in the World Boxing Championship semi-finals. Here’s our review of the last 24 hours.
Strong GB squad for Gymnastics Worlds
Four of Great Britain’s bronze-medal winning male gymnastics squad from London 2012 will aim to return to the podium once again after being named in the team for the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow. The quartet of Max Whitlock – all-around silver medallist at the 2014 Championships – Louis Smith, Kristian Thomas and Daniel Purvis are included in the six-strong men’s team for the event, which take place at the Hydro Arena from October 23 to November 1. They are joined by European junior all-around champion Nile Wilson and English all-around champion Brinn Bevan, with the latter making his first World Championships appearance. The women’s team comprises of 2008 Olympian Rebecca Downie, Ellie Downie, and Amy Tinkler while four-time Commonwealth Games Claudia Fragapane, Kelly Simm and Ruby Harrold return to the venue of the Games from last summer. The top eight teams in Glasgow will qualify their country a place at the team competition at next year’s Games in Rio while individual quota places are also up for grabs. The women kick things off with team qualification on Friday October 23 with the men in action two days later on Sunday. Great Britain’s men’s head national coach, Eddie Van Hoof said: “The team reflects the great strides made by the Great Britain’s men’s gymnastics programme with a real blend of experience and youth in our team. “The primary aim for Glasgow is Rio qualification but a home World Championships with the fantastic home crowd also gives extra motivation for individuals to really make their mark.” Read more about the GB squad here. Joyce falls in semi-finals Joe Joyce missed the opportunity to secure an automatic qualification spot for the Rio 2016 Olympics after being narrowly beaten in the AIBA World Boxing Championship semi-finals. The super-heavyweight lost on points to Tony Yoka in Doha, Qatar meaning he had to settle for a bronze medal. Yoka looked in trouble after being caught by a stinging left hook in the second round but ultimately all three judges unanimously scored the bout for the Frenchman. Joyce, who was the last Brit standing in Doha, was the third seed and needed a gold medal to ensure himself a place at next year’s Olympics. Instead the 30-year-old will now have to wait until events in April, May and June of 2016 to try and seal his spot in Rio. Muhammad putting injury struggles behind him It’s been a topsy-turvy year for Lutalo Muhammad but he believes he is close to getting back to his best ahead of this weekend's World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Manchester. The 24-year-old took bronze at London 2012 and was all set to take on the best at this year’s World Championships only to be sidelined with a knee injury. That meant Muhammad missed the trip to Russia but he bounced back with a series of strong performances at the European Games in Baku where he took bronze at -80kg. And he says he wants to keep improving as he builds towards a huge year that is likely to include a trip to the Olympics in Rio. “It was a different obstacle for me this season,” he said. “As I’ve gone most of my career without any serious injuries and this has been the first time I’ve ever had to deal with anything like that. “But the good thing is I’m recovering well from it and I’ve got great communication with the doctors and the physios who have all done a fantastic job getting me as fit as possible. “So I’m very happy to be in the position I’m in right now. “Coming back at Baku was very satisfying for me. Five weeks before I was on the surgeons table and obviously I managed to come away with a European medal which made me very happy. “But that was just a start and I’m now hoping I can continue to get better to get me back where I belong on top of the podium.” Read more from Muhammad here. Konta misses out on Linz qualification Johanna Konta lost just her third match since Wimbledon as she was beaten in three sets by Klara Koukalova in Linz Open qualifying. Konta was just one win away from the main draw in Austria but went down 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to the Czech world No.105. It is the first time the British No.1 has lost to a lower-ranked opponent since May and is just her third defeat in 26 matches. The 24-year-old is up to a career-high ranking of 47 after her recent results, including a quarter-final appearance at the Wuhan Open, but will now only be taking part in the women’s doubles with fellow Brit Naomi Broady in Linz. Sportsbeat 2015