YOG 2010: Jones strikes taekwondo gold for Great Britain in Singapore

From Tom Reynolds, Sportsbeat, in Singapore

 JADE Jones planted Great Britain's flag in the Youth Olympic Games medal table - and all that glitters is gold for the taekwondo player.

GOLDEN GIRL: Jade Jones gets Great Britain's first medal of the Youth Olympic Games with taekwondo gold in Singapore (Singapore Press Holdings)

The 17-year-old was selected to fly the British flag solo in Singapore as the only taekwondo player selected in the 39-strong team - but the multiple junior champion brushed aside all in her path to top the podium.

Jones began her campaign with a hard-fought 7-3 win over the Ivory Coast's Ruth Gbagbi and swiftly followed that up with an impressive 7-4 victory over Monica Chavez of Mexico.

Sweden's Jennifer Agren was next up for the Brit, but again Jones proved far too strong and sealed a 4-0 win to book her place in the final.

And far from feel the pressure as she went for gold. Jones saved her best for last to down Thanh Thao Nguyen of Vietnam and get Great Britain off the mark in the Far East.

The final went to a sudden death period but Jones landed the winning blow, a kick to the head, just six seconds in to clinch victory.

"It's just amazing, it's always nerve-wracking when it gets that close but it's whoever wants it more" she said.

"It's amazing, it's an Olympic set-up here so I'm now excited for London 2012.

"London 2012 is definitely on mind. I've had the experience here so I know what it's going to be like. I've just got to keep on winning the competitions and hopefully see how it goes.

"I was confident. You've always got a little bit of nerves at the back of your head but I was confident. I knew I could win on my day but anything can happen. It was so close, but it's just amazing."

Jones' progress should come as little surprise to taekwondo aficionados. She has been making waves in the junior ranks for some considerable time now as the sport goes from strength to strength in Great Britain.

Sarah Stevenson's bronze medal at Beijing 2008 has seemingly opened the taekwondo floodgates.

Great Britain saw their London 2012 budget bumped up by a mammoth 68.3 per cent in January 2009, courtesy of Stevenson's medal while she and Aaron Cook returned from the European Championships in May and both top the world rankings in their divisions.

 

“Jade was always going to be a threat – she has been training in Korea for three weeks where she has beeen exceptional,” said GB Taekwondo performance director Gary Hall.

 “We knew she was on form and it was a great performance by her. She was very confident before the Youth Games, she’s had a superb year and she’s on a metoric rise. She’s got so much left in the tank and she’s going from strength to strength.

“With our success at the European Championships and two athletes ranked No 1 in the world, Jade’s gold adds to a great year for GB taekwondo.”

 

  Lloyds TSB, proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games. Visit LloydsTSB.com/London2012