De Lange wrestles with disappointment of Games silver: 'I came so close to gold'

South African wrestler Nicolaas de Lange couldn't hide his disappointment despite earning a silver medal in his debut appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Saturday.

De Lange was already guaranteed a medal as he fought against Canada's Nishan Randhawa in the men's freestyle 97kg gold medal bout.

The 20-year-old South African got off to a strong start in the first period but lost by points 9-3 in the final to snag a Commonwealth silver.

"It's definitely a huge achievement. It's hard to feel too positive in the moment, I came so close to gold," said De Lange after the fight.

"Of cause, the disappointment is high, but it's still a great achievement."

De Lange still has a bright future and admits to not having the best final, but he is determined to return at the next Commonwealth Games in 2026 Victoria.

"I had an excellent start to the day, but in the final, I slipped up a bit. There's definitely things to work on that I've been struggling with and things that became clear over this tournament," said De Lange.

"These things I know I can work through, so hopefully, I can take the gold the next time."

De Lange has big things planned as he will focus on this year's fifth edition of the U23 World Wrestling Championships set from 17-23 October in Pontevedra, Spain.

"There's a lot that's happening now. I'm actually going to be moving out of the country for a while and to go and study, but I'll still be doing wrestling full-time," he said.

"You'll see me at the U23 World's in October in Spain."