Coming from a successful boxing family, Sandy Ryan has never found herself lacking the motivation to reach the very top.
Her welterweight gold at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year sealed a remarkable double for the Ryans after brother Dave had won a pro Commonwealth title four years earlier.
But with the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships starting in New Delhi getting underway on 15th November, Sandy has one eye on bettering her sibling’s achievements.
“I wouldn’t call the success of my brother’s career a pressure,” she said.
“Already we’ve done something that no other brother and sister have done; he won the Commonwealth title in the pros and I’ve won it in the amateurs. I don’t think any other siblings like us have done that.
“For the amateurs the World Championships is the second biggest tournament in boxing behind the Olympics, so this is a big one for me and I’m looking really forward to it.
“I have told him I’m going to go one better than him and win a world title.”
With the Tokyo Olympics now less than two years away, the World Championships provides an opportunity for Team GB’s female fighters to stamp their mark on the international scene.
As one of the squad’s senior members, Ryan is looking to build on the silver she won at the 2014 worlds, and following her triumph at the Gold Coast games she is perfectly set to take yet another step up.
And not only does the 25-year-old take inspiration from some of her big-name predecessors when it comes to performing in the biggest bouts; she also ranks herself among them.
“The female boxing scene just keeps growing and growing,” she said.
“You’ve got Katie Taylor, Savannah Marshall, Chantelle Cameron and then Clarissa Shields and Mikaela Mayer in America.”
“There’s some big names out there and I believe I’m in the mix with names like that.”
Sandy will compete alongside Lauren Price, Rosie Eccles, Paige Murney, Natasha Gale, Ebonie Jones and Ellie Scotney in India.
And GB Boxing Performance Director Rob McCracken is excited to see how the group of young fighters fare on the world stage.
“This is a relatively inexperienced group, as we have had a number of senior female boxers leave the squad this cycle, so it is an opportunity for some of the newer boxers to show that they have what it takes to compete at the highest level,” he said.
“The World Championships is always a very tough test and will provide us with a good indication of how we are progressing with the women’s programme as we look to build a new team for Tokyo 2020.”
Sportsbeat 2018