Rio Olympics 2016: Leeds boxer Nicola Adams closes in on historic gold

Leeds boxer Nicola Adams guaranteed herself a silver medal at least from her adventure at the Rio Olympic Games by defeating China's Ren Cancan.

By The Newsroom

Published 18th Aug 2016, 18:36 BST

Updated 25th Aug 2016, 20:03 BST

Nicola Adams won her semi-final on a points decision (PA)

Adams made up for a slow start to strike back against her long-time flyweight rival and win on points.

Cancan won the opening round but Adams asserted her authority on the fight in rounds two and three before holding onto victory in the final round.

The 33-year-old will now get a chance to secure a place in boxing history and become only the second boxer to retain an Olympic gold medal.

Hungary’s László Papp was the last boxer to win successive gold medals at the Melbourne Games 60 years ago.

France's Sarah Ourahmoune will face Adams in the gold medal bout on Saturday, August 20 after Columbian Ingrid Lorena Valencia in the other semi-final.

Adams made history by becoming the first woman to win an Olympic boxing gold medal when she beat Cancan at the London ExCeL Arena four years ago.