European Games: I've struggled with expectation - Jade Jones
- Published
Jade Jones admits she still struggles to deal with the expectations of being Olympic champion as she prepares to compete at the European Games.
The 22-year-old from Flint in north Wales will represent Great Britain in the women's -57kg category in Baku in Azerbaijan.
Jones claimed Britain's first Olympic taekwondo gold medal with victory over Yuzhuo Hou at London 2012.
"I'm still learning to deal with it and I'm still not perfect at it," she said.
"Every time you step into the ring everyone still wants to beat you even more because you're the Olympic champion.
"I know I'm the best out there. It's about doing it on the day all the time."
Jones missed out on a medal at the World Taekwondo Championships in Russia amid controversy when the electronic scoring system froze during her quarter-final.
The 2010 Youth Olympic champion and Iranian Kimia Zenoorin were level at 9-9 in the -57kg division when the 22-year-old from Flint struck with a reverse to the chest with seconds to go.
Zenoorin countered as the scoring froze and, by the time it came back online, only the Iranian had been awarded a point and Jones went out 10-9.
But Jones is looking for a much improved performance at the inaugural European Games with her campaign starting on Wednesday, 17 June.
"It's really important especially after my disappointing exit at the Worlds," Jones added.
"It was disappointing as I felt I was in good form and it was frustrating coming out in the quarters.
"But I learnt a lot and even before the computer glitch I didn't fight at my best and I made a lot of mistakes.
"Mentally I felt really nervous and quite pressured so this time I'm trying to go back to square one, enjoy it against and fight like I used to."
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