Get a Grip!

When tickets for the Commonwealth Games first went on sale I decided to apply for those for the less popular events, as well as the athletics, swimming, cycling and gymnastics. As it happened, I got tickets for a few of the athletics sessions but none of the other 'big' sports, but I was delighted that my applications for badminton, hockey, netball, squash, table-tennis, weightlifting, boxing and wrestling were all successful.

I had never seen amateur wrestling before and, although I knew it was nothing like the professional theatre shows that appear on TV, I didn't know what to expect. Once I got the hang of the scoring system (or thought I had) it was a very enjoyable and engrossing couple of hours. The fact that a Scottish wrestler, Viorel Etko, in the navy blue in the foreground of this photograph, was doing particularly well - he ended up with a bronze medal in a later session - also added to the excitement and interest.