Flintshire’s Jade Jones wins Taekwondo gold in first competition since Olympic defeat

Flintshire’s Jade Jones has won -57kg gold in the WT President’s Cup in Albania.

It was her first competition since being defeated at the 2020 Olympics.

The 28-year-old beat fourth seed Nikita Glasnovic 10-2 in the final in Albania.

The Flintshire star’s bid to become the first British woman to win gold medals at three consecutive Olympics suffered first-round heartbreak by Refugee team athlete Kimia Alizadeh at Tokyo 2020 last July.

Jade, the reigning world champion, hadn’t fought since but she returned to action at the WT Presidents Cup on Monday.

The 28-year-old was part of a 15-strong squad that includes Tokyo medallists, Bianca Walkden and Lauren Williams (pictured top right).

Super happy to be coming home with the GOLD 🥇 Another great trip, thanks to everyone who organised and supported! #HeadHunter #Onwards pic.twitter.com/wBWP0bWpdS

— Jade Jones (@jadejonestkd) February 21, 2022

Before the fight Jade said: “The way my career has gone, it’s been all highs and not many lows,” said Jones.

“In Tokyo, experiencing the biggest low for me makes you appreciate even more how important the mind is.

“It is super important to look after your mental health and it is something big I have been working on.

“It can be hard to be as motivated as the 17-year-old Jade. However, just constantly changing the goals and remembering why you are doing it helps me.”

“It is easy to be motivated when you lose; it’s hard when you stay winning constantly. So, giving yourself a target to strive for is good for me.”

Jones, whose last tournament success came at last year’s European Championships, added: “I have got a proper buzz and just can’t wait to get into the ring.

“It feels like forever since I have competed, so I can’t wait to get back into action.

“Training has gone well, and we had a good camp in Mexico with plenty of test matches and lots of sparring.”

[Feature Photo: gbtaekwondo.co.uk]