Jade Jones finally added an elusive first world taekwondo title to her double Olympic gold with a 14-7 win over defending champion Lee Ah-reum in Manchester.
Jones, who had been defeated by Lee at the semi-final stage in Muju two years ago, defied a final-round fightback to claim a victory which underlines her status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
Jones told Press Association Sport: “There were times I doubted if I could ever do it and I can finally go to sleep at night knowing I am not going to finish my career without winning that world title.
The 26-year-old may have been forgiven for wondering if the world title would be the major title to elude her after a series of near-misses stretching back to her first World Championship in 2011.
Jones’ victory erased the memories of those previous heartbreaks, starting in 2011 when, at the age of barely 18, she had to settle for a silver medal after losing a sudden-death final round to China’s Hou Yuzhuo.
Jones fell short at the quarter-final stage in 2013 and two years later also went out in the last eight after a controversial loss to Iran’s Kimia Alizadeh, when she was hindered by a crash in the electronic scoring system.
➡️UPDATE: @jadejonestkd has *FINALLY* done it ?
She takes out Ah-Reum Lee ?? 14-7 in the -57kg Final! ?#KickingForGlory pic.twitter.com/EImcaw6VnI
— GB Taekwondo ?? (@GBTaekwondo) May 18, 2019
By 2017 Jones had a second consecutive Olympic title in the bag but continued to struggle on the world stage, where she had to settle for bronze after her 14-8 loss to Lee in Muju.
Two years later Jones was intent on making up for her previous disappointments with victory on home soil, and no doubt suitably inspired by her friend and flat-mate Bianca Walkden’s third triumph on Friday night.
If the manner of Walkden’s win had been highly controversial, her accomplishment in becoming the first Briton to win three world titles was not lost on Jones, who craved a share of her world gold medal moment.
Jones’ gold was Great Britain’s third of the championships and the fourth medal in total after Huddersfield 16-year-old Aaliyah Powell won a surprise bronze in the women’s -53kg division.
Powell’s remarkable run was ended emphatically, 38-5 in her semi-final against Russia’s Tatiana Kudashova, but it was nevertheless a hugely promising performance from an athlete who is still sitting her GCSEs.
Powell told Press Association Sport: “It’s been really difficult studying and training this year but I wasn’t going to let my GCSEs stand in the way of an opportunity like this.”
Zheng dropped to her knees both in the ring and on the podium after losing the women’s +73kg final by disqualification despite holding a 10-point lead midway through the final round.
Chinese head coach Guan Jianmin told state news agency Xinhua the result was “a scandal” and “very dirty”, adding: “I have been doing this sport for 16 years but this is the first time I realised taekwondo can be played like this.”
Hall told Press Association Sport: “They (the Chinese) have no right to be offended – in fact Britain should be more offended for the disrespectful manner in which the Chinese athlete took her medal.
“Bianca won that match fair and square. The rules state that you have to fight until the very end and Bianca did so using right and proper rules.”
Meanwhile, Olympic silver medallist Lutalo Muhammad has been forced to withdraw from the event due to injury. Muhammad had been due to contest the men’s -87kg division on Sunday.
