PROMISING boxer Harris Akbar has gone the distance to represent England in the Commonwealth Youth Games.

The Bradford Police & College Boxing Academy prospect has flown nearly 10,000 miles to represent his country in the Games in Samoa. The competition runs from tomorrow until Friday.

The academy are hoping for more success after fellow Bradford College student Jade Ashmore claimed a bronze medal at the EUBC European Youth Championships in Hungary.

Ashmore, another member of the England Boxing Talent Plan like Akbar, overcame tough opposition from Azerbaijan and Germany in Keszthely. She was eventually beaten by Ukraine’s Valeria Manchak.

Ashmore travels from Chesterfield four times a week to study for a BTEC level 3 in sport and trains with coach Mick Gannon and Mally MacIver.

Her bronze gong was the best female result in the academy’s seven-year history.

Former England coach Gannon said: “Jade has progressed well over the past year and is now achieving at international level.

“The great thing about her is that she has the potential to improve a great deal more. She has enormous reserves of courage and resilience to draw upon.”