Ceire already planning for next event as she returns after super Worlds wins

Ballyhaise boxer Ceire Smith arrived home last Sunday from the World Championships in China and immediately set herself a new target - to get even better. The 19-year-old flyweight exceeded expectations last week when she delivered two stunning performances to reach the last 16 of the Worlds, a result which her coach Brian McKeown told the Celt beforehand he would be "absolutely over the moon" with. However, the Mullalougher girl admitted that she was slightly disappointed not to have progressed further and insisted that the event has shown her exactly where she needs to improve. "I have to train harder, get tougher and learn to move faster. Everyone is coming up congratulating me but I am disappointed. I know I got to the last 16 in the world but there's still some disappointment," she said. "It's funny that I had to box that Polish girl because out of all the boxers in the world, the only one apart from Katie Taylor that I had really watched over the past two years was that Polish girl. When I was told who I was boxing, I was sort of 'oh, right... ok' [laughs]. "I could've won a third fight but as each round goes on, fights gets harder. I got beat by the eventual bronze medallist and the other medallists were all outstanding so they would've been just as hard to fight. The top girls were on the podium at the end of the day, they're going to the Olympics and they deserve it. "I was very tense and very apprehensive before my first fight and then I just stopped and asked myself 'why am I so tense, I have done all the hard work, I've done evrything I can possibly do so now it's just a metter of performing'. And I got more relaxed as it went on." The teenage southpaw stopped her first opponent before comprehensively out-pointing her second with two stunning performances. What made her achievement all the more remarkable was that she was one of the youngest competitors in the event - she's also, we're willing to wager, one of the most articulate. While the boxing was "a totally different level", the city itself was, she said, a culture shock. "I couldn't get over the smog, it was really clammy, there was no air and just a thick smog. It was all hustle and bustle, it's hard to describe. Unbelievable, people just driving across each other. You could be in a top notch hotel and next door, there are people living in shacks. It's a culture shock. "But the Chinese people were really lovely." Having made a name for herself on the global stage, she isn't resting on her laurels. She flies to Canada tomorrow (Thursday) to fight on two shows hosted by the St Catherine's club. Ceire is the only girl in a ten-strong Ulster squad coached by Mick Downey (Virginia) and Martin McDonagh and also including local fighters Jonathan Mongan and Stephen Maughan. "I'll take a break for a few days, it will be nice to see normal food again! Then I'm off to Canada on Thursday and then it's back to the drawing board, I'll work harder to see where I can improve."