Pride of Leeds Nicola Adams boxes for first women’s gold

The flyweight beat India’s five-time world champion Mary Kom to set up a clash with her old foe Ren Cancan for a gold medal that would realise her 17-year dream.

“I’ve been training for this moment since I was 12 years old and to think it is finally here is just incredible,” the 29-year-old from Leeds said.

“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. I’ve beaten her once before and I’m definitely confident I can go out and do it again.”

Fans at the ExCeL centre roared her to victory, but there were pantomime boos for David Cameron who was watching the bout with boxer Amir Khan.

Earlier the Prime Minister angered teachers by criticising those who are unwilling to play their part in coaching young talent as he called for a return to the “competitive ethos” in school sports.

He said more needs to be done if Britain wants to build on the success which saw sporting giant Sir Chris Hoy take his sixth gold medal last night.

The problem is not simply one of money, but of “some teachers not wanting to join in and play their part”, Mr Cameron told LBC 97.3 FM radio.

“If we want to have a great sporting legacy for our children - and I do - we have got to have an answer that brings the whole of society together to crack this, more competition, more competitiveness, more getting rid of the idea all must win prizes and you can’t have competitive sports days.

“We need a big cultural change - a cultural change in favour of competitive sports. That’s what I think really matters.”

Lord Moynihan, chairman of the British Olympic Association, said: “Teachers have different agendas and it is right some would not choose to stay on after school to teach sport but there are a lot that would.

“Some don’t want to focus on sports as some don’t want to focus on arts. We need to give them the tools to the job - the time and the facilities.”

But the Prime Minister’s comments sparked anger from teachers’ leaders who said his words were “extremely unfair”.

The selling-off of playing fields, with 21 approved for disposal since the coalition Government came to power, the lack of facilities and the removal of funding all played their part, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, added: “The real issue is the major cuts that this coalition Government has made to school sports.”

Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson promised that maintaining funding for elite sport would be his top priority after the record-breaking performance of Team GB.

The row over the London 2012 legacy comes as Britain’s greatest Olympian Sir Chris, 36, said his second gold medal of the Games was “the perfect end to my Olympic career”.

His victory in the men’s keirin came shortly after the new star of women’s cycling, Laura Trott, 20, won her second gold of the Games in the women’s omnium.

An ecstatic Trott joined an elite club of British women to have won double gold at a single Games, including Dame Kelly Holmes and Rebecca Adlington.

She said: “It still feels totally surreal for me, I still can’t believe this is happening, I’m just a 10-year-old kid.”

There was disappointment today for showjumper Nick Skelton, who missed out on any medals in the individual competition.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has expressed hopes that schoolchildren will be allowed to attend a parade of athletes on the Mall by Buckingham Palace on September 10.

Andy Hunt, the BOA’s chief executive, said: “Let’s hope many schools are allowed an opportunity to come and celebrate. It is going to be broadcast live but we hope there will be millions on the streets.”