Stevenson ready to make taekwondo return

OLYMPIC bronze medallist Sarah Stevenson is set to make her long-awaited return to action this week when she leads Great Britain to the World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships in Azerbaijan.

DISBELIEF: Sarah Stevenson is left shell-shocked after the judges appear to award her Olympic bout to Zhong Chen

The 26-year-old, who made history by becoming the first ever Brit to clinch an Olympic taekwondo medal, has been on the sidelines ever since Beijing with an ankle injury.

Stevenson has undergone two operations on her ankle but revealed she cannot wait to get back into competition.

"It's been frustrating having been injured since Beijing but I'm now just looking forward to getting back in to action," she said.

"I'm not expecting too much from myself but am really using these championships to test out the ankle and see where I am in terms of fitness."

Stevenson's bronze medal was not all plain sailing and she did appear to have controversially been eliminated by China's Zhong Chen, only for the judges to overturn their decision, allowing Stevenson to compete for bronze.

Stevenson will be joined in the female ranks by Caroline Fisher and Sophie Threlfall, while the men's team will comprise of Craig Brown, Davoud Etmanani, Joel Jackson and Martin Stamper.

"Although the rules allow us to send five men and five women we have deliberately chosen to send reduced squads," said British Taekwondo performance director Gary Hall.

"We are viewing these championships as an ideal opportunity to give the athletes good competitive experience rather than fighting for medals.

"It's going to be a busy summer for us with training camps in China and Korea scheduled for July, the second British International Taekwondo Open being staged in Manchester in August followed by the World's in October.

"With such a busy schedule we are giving our athletes the best chance to prepare fully for these competitions and this week should hopefully provide a great opportunity for the team to feel their way back into competition."