final countdown: Eyes on gold as Nicola beats way to historic Olympic bout

The flyweight, from Leeds, comfortably beat India’s five-time world champion Mary Kom to set up today’s clash for the gold medal with her old foe Ren Cancan from China.

As well as making women’s boxing history, victory for Adams would also add to Yorkshire’s remarkable tally of medals which is outstripping many other nations’ hauls at the Games, and inspiring a map by Welcome to Yorkshire being launched today to celebrate the success.

The former Agnes Stewart School pupil said: “I’ve been training for this moment since I was 12 years old and to think it is finally here is just incredible.

“I am going to treat it like a normal tournament, and hopefully the crowd will give me a boost to edge away and get the gold.”

Although women’s boxing is featuring at the Olympics for the first time, Cancan has previously beaten Adams in the 2010 and 2012 world championship finals.

But the 29-year-old doesn’t lack self-belief – which was evident in the closing stages of yesterday’s semi-final when she produced an “Ali shuffle” as a tribute to her boxing idol Muhammad Ali.

She said: “I’ve beaten her once before and I’m definitely confident I can go out and do it again. I massively want that gold. Words can’t express how much I want it.”

Nicola’s mother, Dee Adams, from Ebor Gardens, Leeds, said: “I’m feeling pretty good about it – I’m sure she’s going to do Leeds, Yorkshire and the whole of Great Britain proud.”

One trainer who helped Adams along the way said there is no way she will allow anyone else to take gold. Fred Gummerson, 80, who watched the semi-final fight at his gym in Cudworth, near Barnsley, said: “No-one’s going to take that from her now.”

Mr Gummerson let Adams spar at his gym a few years ago and said he played a “small part” in training her. “She’s a great girl from a great family.”

And Mr Gummerson said it was Adams who converted him to the idea of women boxing. “I was dead against it, to be honest. But once I saw her in here that was it. I was totally gone.”

He added: “We saw her get a presentation in Sheffield and she walked in in her evening gown. My wife said ‘What a beautiful girl – what’s she doing boxing?’ She’s so nice. She’s put her life and soul into it. She lives and breathes boxing and knows nothing else.”

Cameron under fire over school sports: Page 5; Gold medal dream: Page 23.