Just under 13 months ago, Bradley Saunders qualified for the Olympics by winning a surprise medal at the World Championships in Chicago. From that high he now finds himself on something of a low, his boxing career in doubt.

It has not been an easy year for Saunders. He is a naturally bouncy and enjoyable lad and the times I have been in his company I have found him very likeable. He seemed to find his newfound fame something of a burden, however.

He was one of the later arrivals in the Elite England team, having been behind Jamie Cox for the light-welterweight slot until Cox turned professional after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006. But Saunders showed his talent quickly, despite being hindered by injuries.

After winning his World Championships medal, he needed an operation to repair a corkscrew fracture in his knuckle, a terrible injury for a boxer. But he came back from it well, winning a gold medal at the President's Cup in Taiwan, where his victims included Manus Boonjumnong, the reigning Olympic champion who would go on to win a silver in Beijing. After that success, Saunders, 22, was installed as a medal hope, but he began to crumble under the pressure.

This pressure rose when Frankie Gavin, the world lightweight champion, failed to make the weight prior to the Olympics. This not only installed Saunders as Great Britain's best medal chance, but some people suggested he had taken up the light-welterweight slot which should have been taken by Gavin (although it would have not been possible to swap the boxers).

After losing his second bout to Alexis Vastine, of France, Saunders admitted that he felt relieved to have lost and that it was a huge weight off his shoulders. It was typically honest of him, but undoubtedly an unwise thing to say, even if he had been thinking it.

Since the Olympics, Saunders was known to be very down and was given a lengthy break from his duties with the Elite England squad and not selected for this month's European Championships. He is one of the few members of the GB squad that is not thought to have held any talks with a professional promoter.