Bradford amateur boxer and coach Saira Tabasum is in the running for honours at the Asian Women of Achievement awards.

Saira Tabasum, 21, runs a girls-only non-contact boxing club at Springwood Community Primary School.

The Bradford University student is short-listed for the first-ever sports category, which has been set up to coincide with this summer’s London Games.

Tabasum recently won the 67kg class at the British Universities boxing championships in Sheffield on behalf of the Bradford Police College Academy.

A bus-load of Springwood pupils were there at the Octagon Centre to cheer her to a 25-6 win over Brighton’s Amber Withers. School PE teacher Luke Swift said: “The kids haven’t stopped talking about Saira’s win. It really has inspired both the boys and girls who watched her bout and several have told me they would like to emulate her some day.

“Our only regret is that we couldn’t take more supporters. We could have filled the school minibus many times over.

“Parents were desperate to tag along and pupils actually joined the boxing club just for a chance to get on the reserve list for the trip!”

The Asian Women of Achievement judging panel will meet over the coming weeks to decide winners for each of the 11 different sections, with the names announced in a glitzy ceremony on May 16.