Particularly noteworthy were the achievements of brothers Khalid and Gamal Yafai, who won silver and bronze medals respectively. Khalid (who took part in Beijing 2008) celebrated his 21st birthday on the day of his semi-final victory, and is a relative veteran at this level now.
However, his younger brother Gamal was getting his first taste of international boxing at senior international level. What a debut! The future is bright for these two Brummie brothers. The only problem is that, with a change in Olympic weight categories, they may have to box each other for the right to go to an Olympic qualifier in 2011!
Such is the current form of Featherweight Iain Weaver that it was no surprise to see him on the podium. That said, European silver is undoubtedly the highlight, to date, of his fledgling international career.
Liverpudlian Lightweight Tom Stalker was the third English finalist. In Moscow, he was always destined to struggle against the experienced Russian Selimov. But he acquitted himself well despite going down 8-4. His first-round victory against reigning World Champion Domenico Valentino of Italy was a major highlight of the tournament and, without doubt, a catalyst for the rest of the team's success.
Welsh Bantamweight star Andrew Selby won a bronze medal to add to the one he collected in Liverpool in 2008.
Looking ahead to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the outlook is excellent for Performance Director Rob McCracken and his squad. No doubt they will be aiming to eclipse the Melbourne 2006 medal haul of five golds, two silvers and one bronze. If they keep up this stellar form there will certainly be plenty for British fans to cheer about both in Delhi and at London 2012.
Special mention should also go to Irish light flyweight Paddy Barnes, who has added the European title to his already impressive international amateur CV. The Irish team won five medals in total and will also bring loud and colourful support to ExCeL in 2012.
