A LOCHGELLY national boxing champion wasn't considered for Commonwealth Games selection after the sport's governing body assessed her "ability to win medals".

Boxing Scotland said that Emma McCulloch, their current and three-time Elite champion at 48kg, was not put forward to go to the Gold Coast based on a panel's assessment of whether she had the potential to reach the podium.

Last week we told you that 26-year-old Emma, who is a member of Glenrothes Boxing Club, wanted answers from the organisation after she discovered she hadn't been nominated for selection on social media.

Despite winning their elite championship for three successive years; having fought 27 senior bouts; boxed for Scotland at the GB Three Nations Championships last year; winning the annual Celtic Box Cup competition in October; and defeated English woman Miriam Zouhou – the winner of the prestigious Haringey Box Cup in 2017 – during an ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) show between Scottish and English select teams in Birmingham on St Andrew's night, she was overlooked in favour of Elgin 18-year-old Megan Gordon.

After Team Scotland's initial boxing squad, announced in November, contained only one female in the 57kg Vicky Glover, a meeting was held by Boxing Scotland on the 22nd of that month to choose a representative in the 45-48kg weight.

They chose to nominate Gordon, a bronze medallist at last summer's Commonwealth Youth Games who is yet to have a senior bout, but their selection policy said that they would "communicate the outcome of the selection panel's deliberations to potential nominees by Thursday 23 November 2017".

That would have given unsuccessful athletes like Emma the chance to appeal within three days of receiving a notification of non-nomination, but she said she never received notification and only found out the news of Gordon's selection when she posted on Facebook earlier this month.

Emma told Times Sport that finding out in such a way was "heartbreaking" and her attempts to get answers from Boxing Scotland over their handling of the situation had proven unsuccessful.

Boxing Scotland did not respond in time before going to print last week but Fraser Walker, CEO, subsequently commented: "Along with every other sport, Boxing Scotland followed a process agreed with Commonwealth Games Scotland to nominate a number of boxers to go to the Gold Coast.

"The process ranked boxers upon a panel's assessment of their ability to win medals. This process was completed once last year and, unfortunately, Emma was not considered for nomination at 48kg, whilst another boxer was.

"Boxing Scotland did however receive the fantastic news that 10 of our nominated boxers had been selected by Commonwealth Games Scotland; a total which equalled the largest number of Scottish boxers to ever go to the Games and included our first-ever female representative at the event.

"This month, we received the monumental news that an 11th boxer had been selected to attend after Commonwealth Games Scotland received a specific request from the Commonwealth Games Federation, and in fact that place would go to another female boxer.

"We wish all of our selected boxers the very best of luck at the up-and-coming Games and thank all of our members for their continued support."

Emma, who contacted Boxing Scotland to arrange a meeting to discuss the situation but saw it cancelled after it had initially been agreed, said: "It was really heartbreaking to read, particularly under those circumstances.

"I was unaware that another place had come available in Team Scotland after the initial selection, and that Megan Gordon had been nominated over myself.

"I did not receive any correspondence prior to finding out via that Facebook post and, due to receiving no correspondence, I was effectively robbed of an appeal.

"It's now too late to have the decision overturned or to organise a box-off with Megan as the games are only weeks away."

She added: "It doesn't make sense. If they'd said from the start it wouldn't be so bad and we could've resolved it, but it seems like they're now just ignoring me.

"It's hard enough not to get picked but to find out that way was even worse. At one point I think I was the only one working full-time and, when I look back on everything I've sacrificed over the last three years to try and get to the Games, it's a real kick in the teeth."

The Commonwealth Games opens on April 4 and closes on April 15.