Blackwood’s Lauren Williams got Great Britain off to a winning start with a gold medal at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Manchester.
In a rematch of their Moscow GP head-to-head earlier this year, Welsh star Williams gained revenge over Croatia’s Matea Jelic in the -67kg final, held on Friday, October 19.
The 19-year-old won 15-9 collecting half of her points with punches.
Earlier Williams survived a major scare in her last 16 match against Jordan’s Julyann Al-Sadeq.
She trailed the 2018 Asian gold medallist 15-10 and 18-14 in the closing stages of the final round before recovering to win 22-20 with Al-Sadeq finally disqualified for excessive penalties.
“I have sat in the crowd here in Manchester before with its incredible atmosphere thinking how much I would love to compete here,” said Williams after her title win.
“I am finally here so it’s another goal ticked off. I have not had the best of runs in the Grand Prixs leading up to this.
“But this has been perfect to make me realise why I am here.
“It’s not been a bad year but I always want better. I know there is so much more I can do. Again this is another step in the right direction.”
Jade Jones and Damon Sansum ensured GB Taekwondo stars achieved a record-equalling tally of World Grand Prix medals on the final day of action in Manchester tonight (Sunday).
Double Olympic champion Jones lived up to her tag as a pre-event favourite with gold in the -57kg final against Chinese teenager, Lijun Zhou.
Sansum achieved a best-ever Grand Prix result in the -80kg weight division but Raul Martinez Garcia claimed his first GP crown with a 22-7 victory.
However, the two podium places boosted GB’s final medal tally to five, matching their 2017 haul at the London Grand Prix 12 months ago.