London 2012: GB women's London hopes on the line in China
- Published
British flyweight Nicola Adams wants to emulate the greats
Great Britain's top female boxers will try to secure Olympic qualification at the World Championships in China.
Flyweight Nicola Adams, lightweight Natasha Jonas and middleweight Savannah Marshall will represent Britain in Qinhuangdao from Friday.
To qualify for London, they must finish among the three top Europeans in their weight class.
"I don't just want to qualify, I want to go for the gold medal," 29-year-old Adams told BBC Sport.
The London Olympics are the first time women's boxing will feature at a Games after changes to the programme in 2009., external
With two World silver medals, external already won and an impressive victory against world number one flyweight Ren Cancan in February, Adams will be one of the favourites to win gold in Qinhuangdao.
"I've had some good wins over the past couple of months which has boosted my confidence even further," said the Leeds fighter.
"I don't want to get too carried away. I'm keeping my feet on the ground because I know everybody wants to qualify, and everybody wants to go to the Olympics, so they're all going to be coming for me."
In the remaining two Olympic weight divisions, Britain will be represented by Jonas at lightweight (60kg) and middleweight Marshall (75kg).
Jonas, who describes herself as being in the "best mental condition of her career", was chosen for the squad following a long selection battle with Chantelle Cameron and Amanda Coulson.
"Just winning the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics, ahead of two superb boxers like Amanda and Chantelle, is a great achievement," said Jonas, who won gold at the test event in November last year.
"However, the challenge now is to do well at the World Championships and make sure I earn a place to compete at London.
"It was unanimous that I should go to the worlds, so I feel that all the coaches believed in me and I believe in myself."
Rob McCracken, GB Boxing performance director, said: "The female squad has made great progress in the last two years. The women have gained a lot of experience and have a track record of winning medals at international competitions."
Adams, Jonas and Marshall are competing in Olympic weights and so representing Great Britian, but there are other boxers on show from the home nations.
Lisa Whiteside has been chosen by the Amateur Boxing Association of England to compete in the event at the non-Olympic featherweight (57kg) category. Wales will be represented by Lynsey Holdaway (48kg), Becky Price (60kg) and Lauren Price (69kg).