SAVANNAH MARSHALL is determined to put her London 2012 disappointment behind her and “do herself justice” when she returns to the Olympic ring in Rio.

Marshall was one of three North-East boxers confirmed on the 12-strong British squad for this summer’s Olympics yesterday, and the Hartlepool middleweight will form part of the biggest domestic boxing contingent to compete at a Games since 1984 in Los Angeles.

She will be joined by light welterweight Pat McCormack, who is from Washington and a member of Birtley ABC, and welterweight Josh Kelly, who hails from Sunderland, and is desperate to banish the memories of her last Olympic outing.

Four years ago, she took to the ring in London as the reigning world champion and favourite to win gold, but suffered a shock first-round defeat to Kazakhstan’s Marina Volnova.

Since then, she has claimed Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow and won a bronze medal at this year’s World Championships, but she admits proving herself on the Olympic stage remains a burning ambition.

“There are 12 girls qualified, and there’s not going to be one easy ride,” said Marshall, who trained with Hartlepool Headland ABC prior to joining up with GB’s high-performance squad in Sheffield. “The qualification has worked differently this time – you’ve got the best two from the continentals and the top four from the Worlds, so you’re really talking about the absolute best.

“It’s going to be really hard, but I just want to perform and do myself justice. Obviously, I didn’t perform in London, so if I go there and perform I’ll be happy, because I know if I go and perform like I can, I’ll win. If that happens, I’ll be delighted.

“I’ve got the Commonwealth Games behind me, and that’s a big thing. In competitions like this, I think once I get the ball rolling, I’m fine. It’s just always the first fight – once I get through that, I’m normally fine. I’ve learned how to handle that much better now though.

“The first fight is always hard, and I’ve worked on how to deal with that. I’m four years older than I was in London, and things change with maturity.”

Marshall is one of two British women fighting in Rio – reigning flyweight champion Nicola Adams joins her on the team – but there were times in the wake of the London Games when she considered quitting the British squad.

The prospect of turning professional didn’t hold much appeal though, and having decided to continue fighting, her burning ambition was to secure a second Olympic appearance.

That will come in August, and while winning at the Commonwealths was satisfying, triumphing at the Olympics would represent an achievement on a completely different scale.

“For female boxers, this is as good as it gets,” said Marshall. “It doesn’t get any better than this. I could probably turn pro, but what’s the point of fighting on little shows in little clubs?

“This is the Olympics, the biggest stage you could ever fight on. This is as good as it gets, so it was just about being smart and making the right decision. I feel like that’s been justified now.

“The qualifying couldn’t have gone any better. It was my last chance, so I’m just pleased I got it in the bag. I just thought, ‘I’ve stayed four years for this, so I need to make it happen’.

“I try not to be too hard on myself – if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen – but this was something I really wanted. I’ve achieved so much already, but I’m glad I managed to perform in the last qualifier and this is all happening now.”

With her formal selection for Rio now confirmed, Marshall will spend the next three weeks stepping up her training in Sheffield before heading to the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte for a pre-Olympic training camp.

“I’ve got six weeks until I box so I’m in the middle of my camp,” she said. “I’m nowhere near where my fitness and sharpness will be because I’ve still got six weeks to go. I boxed in Brazil three years ago, and I won then. Hopefully, that’s a good sign.”

McCormack and Kelly secured their Olympic places at last month’s final qualifying event, and with the likes of Commonwealth champions Joe Joyce and Antony Fowler also selected, hopes are high that Britain will surpass their total of four boxing medals from the London Games.

“To qualify a team full of men and fill 12 of the 13 places available to us is a fantastic achievement by all the boxers who have performed superbly and thoroughly deserve the reward of representing Team GB in Rio,” said GB boxing performance director Rob McCracken.

“It was a very gruelling qualification campaign, and to get to the end of it with 12 boxers going to the Olympics is a great reward for the hard work and efforts of the coaches, support staff and everyone connected with GB boxing.”

BRITISH BOXING TEAM:

Women: Nicola Adams (flyweight), Savannah Marshall (middleweight)

Men: Galal Yafai (light flyweight), Muhammad Ali (flyweight), Qais Ashfaq (bantamweight), Joe Cordina (lightweight), Pat McCormack (light welterweight), Josh Kelly (welterweight), Antony Fowler (middleweight), Joshua Buatsi (light heavyweight), Lawrence Okolie (heavyweight), Joe Joyce (super heavyweight)