Boxer Jones targets success at worlds

Jones is one of the youngest members of the seven-strong team going to the AIBA Women's World Championships, and is seen as a key part of GB's next generation of female fighters.

The 20-year-old is benefiting from being part of the setup at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, training alongside Commonwealth gold medallists Lauren Price and Sandy Ryan.

And according to Price, this environment fuels desire and daily improvement as the fighters look to haul themselves and each other up to the next level.

"All the girls in the gym bring each other on and inspire one another every day," Jones said.

"When we're all tired, we push each other through it to get the most out of camp each week, and it's only going to make us all better going into the World Championships."

Nearly 300 fighters from across the globe will compete in the tournament, which begins in New Delhi on November 15.

Fighting in Britain's colours alongside Jones are Price, Ryan, Natasha Gale, Rosie Eccles, Ellie Scotney and Paige Murney.

Jones, alongside Scotney, will be one of the youngest athletes competing, and she has set her sights on returning home from India with a medal.

"You do feel pressure because every tournament is important," she said.

"You don't really want to be going to India and doing awfully.

"You've got to qualify to go to the Olympics over the next couple of years but if you've got any ambition of qualifying then you need to be doing well in tournaments like the Worlds."

Originally a kickboxer, the Portsmouth native was inspired to focus solely on boxing after women competed in the ring at the Olympics for the first time in London 2012, Nicola Adams winning a memorable medal

And Jones knows that the burgeoning nature of the sport for women means she is gunning for glory at an exciting time.

"I started kickboxing when my dad took me along at the age of ten," she said.

"I used to do boxing as a way to improve my kickboxing, but I switched over to boxing when female boxing became an Olympic sport with the dream of eventually ending up competing there myself.

"Women's boxing is getting bigger all the time and it is exciting to be part of the sport at the moment."

Sportsbeat 2018