European Games 2015: Jade Jones wins taekwondo gold
- Published
Olympic champion Jade Jones secured taekwondo gold for Great Britain at the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The 22-year-old from Flint in north Wales beat Croatia's Ana Zaninovic 12-9 in the final of the -57kg event.
"I'm just buzzing, winning gold is a massive confidence boost," Jones told BBC Sport.
It was Britain's third gold medal of the games, following Gordon Benson's triathlon success and Charlie Maddock's -49kg taekwondo victory.
Earlier in the day Jones had beaten Despina Pilavaki of Cyprus 9-1 in the preliminary round and defeated Hungary's Edina Kotsis 5-2 in the quarter-finals, before clinching her place in the final with a 7-6 victory over Sweden's Nikita Glasnovic in the semi-final.
Jones says the win makes up for the disappointment of the World Championships when she was eliminated in the quarter-final following a controversial equipment failure.
"I'm so happy to be back on the top of the podium," she added.
"I now have Youth Olympic, Olympic and European Games titles which is a dream.
"I didn't fight that well and just scraped through a lot of the fights, but winning is a relief and it's more points towards the Rio Olympics which takes a bit of pressure off me."
Jones claimed Britain's first Olympic taekwondo gold medal with victory over Yuzhuo Hou at London 2012.
Brit watch - 'standard is very high'
Shooter Ed Ling says he is happy with his effort in Baku despite missing out on a medal in the men's trap, losing 13-11 to Italy's Giovanni Pellielo.
"The standard of shooting in Baku has been very high. It shows I'm strong and can come back into contention and that's something I always like to do," he said.
Kat Driscoll qualified fifth for the trampoline final, while acrobatic gymnasts Hannah Baughn and partner Ryan Bartlett have reached Friday's all-around and Sunday's balance and dynamic finals.
Boxer Qais Ashfaq, 22, has said he is "getting sharper" as he saw off Giorgi Gogatishvili 3-0 to book a place in the last 16.
"I'm getting my mind working fast and getting back on it and against an awkward kid like that I just needed to punch and duck and bring his head in," he said.
In table tennis, Paul Drinkhall set up a third-round clash with Slovenia's Bojan Tokic after beating Bulgaria's Adam Pattantyus.
"I've never beaten Tokic before so it's going to be a tough match," he said. "We have had quite a few close battles in the past and but I'm confident I can beat him."
- Published17 June 2015
- Published17 June 2015
- Published17 June 2015
- Published19 July 2013