BEING a woman involved in sport is difficult. You don’t get much recognition — not that that is the motivation for taking part — and the pay is ludicrously low. Young girls aspiring to be an athlete don’t have many role models to look up to, something that Ruqsana Begum discovered at a young age.

Today, the problem isn’t as bad as it was 20 years ago. The success of the England national football team at the Women’s World Cup has thrown women’s sport to the fore and girls now have a larger pool of idols then ever before.

As I speak to Begum, it becomes clear that she should be mentioned in the same conversations as star players Toni Duggan and Steph Houghton.