Taekwondo star “honoured” after Team GB selection for Tokyo Olympics

Taekwondo star Lauren Williams has said she’s “honoured” to have been selected to represent Team GB at this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Williams, 22, from Blackwood, is among the five Taekwondo athletes to have been chosen by the British Olympic Association to compete at the rearranged games.

She will represent Team GB alongside double Olympic champion Jade Jones.

It was after seeing Jones compete in the London 2012 Olympics that a 13-year-old Williams decided to take up taekwondo.

Speaking to the BBC, the former two-time world junior champion said: “We all want to go for a gold medal, but I truly believe that I’m amongst the best in the world and I definitely am going to back myself. I think I could pull a medal out the bag.”

Earlier this month, Williams, 22, won a silver medal at the European Championships in Bulgaria.

She won three games at the competition, before a 13-10 defeat to Croatia’s Matea Jelic in the -67kg final.

The defeat meant Williams, from Blackwood, missed out on her third gold medal in what was her fourth European final.

After her defeat in the final, Williams said: “For the first 10 minutes or so after losing I was gutted.

“But I am really proud of myself for getting this far and for what I have achieved.”

She added: “Now it is time to go back, rest up and hit the ground running for the one when it really matters.”