Shelby-Lee Wintle has added another medal to her collection, taking home the gold medal at the Super 8 Boxing Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.
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The Paterson Boxing Gym trained Wintle claimed gold on the first night of the Super 8 Boxing Championships which pitted a team of boxers from NSW against a team of boxers from New Zealand.
Wintle fought Mia Din twice in the 66kg division on successive night on March 22-23 and won both bouts to help NSW to an overall victory.
"It was pretty nerve wracking but it was better than what I thought actually. I was more relaxed than I thought," Wintle said of her first fight overseas.
"I didn't really know what was going to happen but it was good because we were with a good team so that settled my nerves."
Wintle won the first fight against Din by unanimous decision, but it was a tough encounter and refereed differently to what she was used to in Australia.
"She was very tough. She was pushing a lot which was frustrating. Normally in Australia that gets pulled up a lot but New Zealand was a little big different in that way so it wasn't getting pulled up," Wintle said.
"I just had to deal with that I guess. She was very tough, she took a lot of my body shots."
Getting her hand raised for the first time at her first international competition was a unique moment for Wintle.
"It was very exciting. I was very happy. I just wanted to go and ring everyone and tell them back at home, especially my coach," Wintle said.
"They were all happy with me. They all said they knew I could do it, everyone at home was just sort of waiting around, sitting on the edge of their seats.
"There were a few tears from everyone.
Wintle said he backed up well for the second night of the unique competition.
"It was a bit strange, I actually felt better on the second day but I think that was mostly nerves. I did feel sore and tired the second morning because usually you have a fight then can relax but we had to back it up. There was a lot of stretching going on," she said.
"Going into the second fight I was a lot more confident because I had beaten her on the first day so I knew I could do it.
"The New Zealanders weren't very happy because we all beat them on the first day so they were fired up in front of the home crowd so we had to give it all we had."
Wintle thanked her team back in Paterson for her success.
"I wouldn't be able to achieve what I did in New Zealand without my team back home at Paterson Boxing Gym, especially my coaches Greg and John Tindall, who give up hours of their lives to train and support me," she said.
