Jade Jones sets up Tokyo tilt with European gold

Taekwondo 10 Apr 21

Jade Jones got her hands on European gold and has no plans to let go of the Olympic equivalent in Tokyo.

The 28-year-old romped to a third straight continental title in Sofia, Bulgaria, protecting a seven-year unbeaten record at the European Championships.

Now the focus turns to Tokyo and the prospect of doing exactly the same - a historic third gold - on the biggest stage of them all.

“To win for the third time feels amazing, especially in an Olympic year,” said the -57kg star.

“When I heard the national anthem I just thought I want to be hearing this again in a few months’ time in Tokyo.

“Because of the pandemic there have been lots of things we have had to handle and it feels so weird having absolutely no crowd. But at least now I have had some practice fighting without one.

“I have got some time off now because it has been a long year. So, I will enjoy that and then come back hungry again.

“Hopefully, the rest of the team is inspired by myself and Brad to win more medals.”

Jones won her three fights at a canter to advance to the final, only conceding 21 points and racking up 114.

But the final against Hatice Ilgun was far from a foregone conclusion, with the Turk having beaten Jones twice in 2020. The Brit found her best form to prevail 20-5.

Meanwhile, world champion Bradly Sinden bagged yet another international medal to burnish his potential with silver at -68kg.

Sinden was beaten 37-26 by Russia's Sarmat Tcakoev in the final but impressed through the rounds and backed up victory at the Sofia Open earlier this year.

“It was not the result I wanted but it is all a learning curve to take forward towards my main goal – Olympic gold,” said the 22-year-old.

“I wasn’t feeling 100 percent but I still managed to put in some good performances.

“I had some tough fights and will take information from all of them to help me improve.I’ve got some recovery time now and then it is full steam ahead towards Tokyo.”

Sportsbeat 2021