ASK most of the Miss Swindon finalists to jump into a wrestling ring and risk messing up their hair and make-up and the chances are they would politely decline the invitation.

But not 17-year-old Nadia Ageli, who was runner-up in the competition last month.

By day, she is a promotions girl, but by night she is professional female wrestler Nadia Sapphire.

“I used to watch the wrestling on TV when I was little and thought it was amazing,” she said.

“I just decided that it was what I wanted to do.”

Nadia moved to Swindon from Cardiff last year to train at the 4FW wrestling school, in Cheney Manor, after she saw their wrestlers at an event in Wales.

And while it is her passion, not everyone shares her enthusiasm about the sport.

“My dad doesn’t know I wrestle,” she said.

“I’ll have been wrestling for four years in August, but he doesn’t know I do it. I don’t think he’d be very impressed.

“I was going to tell him, but I just never got around to it. He lives in Cardiff so doesn’t see anything about me wrestling.

“My mum loves it though, she thinks it’s really cool.”

Nadia, who lives in the town centre, is convinced she can go to the top of the profession - but despite her obvious beauty, she doesn’t want to be known as one of the ‘divas’.

“It’s hard to get taken seriously as a female wrestler,” she said.

“When you say it to people they automatically ask if it’s mud wrestling. People don’t expect me to say I’m a wrestler.

“They don’t think I look like one, they expect me to be all girly, but I’m really quite feisty.

“I don’t want to be one of the divas on the circuit though, I want to go to Japan where they have a really good female federation and they really go for it in the matches.”

Just because she likes kicking butt in the ring doesn’t mean she has brushed aside all things pretty, pink and sparkly.

You only need to look at her outfit as Nadia Sapphire - complete with glittery make up- to see that.

“I love doing my make-up and hair,” she said.

“If wrestling doesn’t work out I would really like to do some modelling.

“I really enjoyed taking part in the Miss Swindon competition and getting to dress up and look glamorous.

“I really wanted to be Miss Swindon but coming second was a great place to start.

“I’m only 17 and this was the first year I could enter. I’ll definitely be taking part again next year and hopefully I can win it.”