Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Mary Kom’s gold medal quest ended on Wednesday when she lost in the semifinals of the Olympic women’s flyweight boxing competition to Britain’s Nicola Adams, the second-ranked fighter in the world.

Kom had been India’s top gold medal hope but settled for a bronze after she was outscored, 11 to 6, by a determined Adams.

Fighting in the 51-kilogram division, Kom rarely looked sharp, missing punches and appearing sluggish on defense. The bigger, stronger Adams was the aggressor, winning all four rounds as the British crowd cheered her own. Prime Minister David Cameron watched the fight from the stands.

“All I want to do is make my mum and my dad and my family proud,” Adams said after the fight, according to news reports. “I didn’t want to take her lightly. I massively want that gold. Words can’t express it. To get that for Great Britain would mean the world to me.”

Kom wanted it equally badly for India. She has become a darling of Indian fans, and her bronze medal represents a major accomplishment for women’s boxing in India, and for India’s overall sports program.

Her story has inspired girls across India: the daughter of a poor family in Manipur, in India’s often-forgotten Northeast, Kom is a wife and mother of twins who through tenacity and determination has made herself into a world champion boxer.

In 2010, Kom was named India’s Sportswoman of the Year, one of her many honors. Kom’s bronze medal brings India’s tally in London to four medals – one silver and three bronzes – but she had wanted gold.

Yet in the opening round on Wednesday, Adams jumped out quickly, landing punches as Kom struggled to respond. At 5-feet-2, Kom is one of the smallest boxers in the division, and Adams used her superior size to control the fight. Kom rarely penetrated Adams’s defenses or landed damaging punches.

Adams will meet the Chinese boxer, Ren Cancan, in the gold medal match.