DAVIES HAS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

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Olympic bronze medallist David Davies insists he is disappointed at Grant Hackett’s withdrawal from next year’s Commonwealth Games.

Hackett, the Olympic and World 1,500m freestyle champion, has been forced to pull out of the Melbourne Games in March due to a shoulder injury.

That boosts Davies’ chances of winning gold but the 20-year-old Welshman stressed: “I’m obviously disappointed because when you are at a major meet you want your biggest rivals to be there to help make sure you put in your very best performance.

“It’s a real blow to lose any swimmer but to lose someone of such high calibre as Grant is a massive loss.

“Personally I’m gutted for him. We get on well and it will be a real shame that he won’t be there.

“There are still a lot of great swimmers around and it’s going to be a tough job to go there and swim well.”