Jones Targets Manchester In Search For Elusive Worlds Gold

Jade Jones saw her hopes of claiming the one major gold missing from her collection dashed after a World Taekwondo Championships defeat in Muju.

Wales’ double Olympic champion was beaten in the semi-final in South Korea by local fighter Ah-Reum Lee.

The 14-8 reverse meant Jones had to settle for the bronze medal and means her silver from 2011 is still her best effort at the worlds.

The Flint fighter’s next crack at that elusive gold will be on home territory in Manchester in 2019.

“I was up for it, but things just did not go my way,” said a disappointed Jones. Sometimes you have to go away and train harder.”

Jones had gone into the championships as the woman to beat as she already holds the European title as well as the European Games and World Grand Prix crowns.

The 24-year-old had sealed a semifinal slot in the -57kg division on Thursday with an 11-8 win over Chinese Taipei’s Yu-Chuang Chen.

In her opening two fights, Headhunter’ Jones had dropped just points in seeing off Morocco’s Nada Laaraj and Ara White of America.