Jade's the jewel in Great Britain's golden crown as Jones takes taekwondo glory
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Jade Jones won Britain's first ever taekwondo gold when she beat Yuzhuo Hou of China in the women's under-57kgs final at ExCeL.
Jones, 19, had produced a late rally to land her trademark headkick and stun world No 1 Tseng Li-Cheng of Chinese Taipei 10-6 in the semi-final.
However, the opening against Hou - who had beaten Jones in last year's World Championship final - was tense, as each fighter tested their range during a scoreless first two minutes.
Can I kick it? Great Britain's Jade Jones (right) aims a blow at China's Hou Yuzhuo in the final
Golden girl: Jones celebrates glory in the ExCel Arena after beating Hou in the final
A low blow from the Chinese fighter accrued a second penalty which resulted in a point for Jones towards the end of the second round, and another shot to the body on the buzzer made it 2-0.
The Briton continued to go on the offensive and opened up a 5-1 lead heading into the final 30 seconds, closing out a stunning 6-4 victory.
Close contest: The final was a tight and cagey fight but the Brit landed the most blows
Jones' gold eclipses bronze won four years ago in Beijing by Sarah Stevenson, who fights on Friday.
Liverpool's Martin Stamper had earlier narrowly lost his bronze medal fight against Afghan Rohullah Nikpah in the men's under-68kgs.
HJones told BBC2: 'It's amazing. The crowd has just been amazing.
'Before I came out I was thinking that she took my World Championship final. That killed me for ages.
'So I wasn't going to let her beat me here in front of a home crowd.
'To be the first British athlete to win an Olympic gold (in taekwondo) is just amazing.'
Jade Jones factfile
1993: Born March 21 in Bodelwyddan, north Wales. Later, at the age of eight, she takes up taekwondo after her grandad takes her to a local club to learn how to defend herself.
2010: Joins the GB Taekwondo academy in Manchester.
Wins gold at the World Youth Olympics in Singapore, where she is coached by Britain's Sarah Stevenson, a bronze medallist at the Beijing Games.
Claims silver from the Junior World Championships in Mexico.
2011: Makes an impact in the senior ranks with gold at the US Open in Texas, and a silver from the German Open in Hamburg.
May: Wins silver in the featherweight under-57kg at the World Championships in Korea, losing in sudden death score to China's Yuzhou Huo.
October: Claims gold at the British Open in Manchester.
2012: After winning a silver medal from the German Open, has to settle for bronze at the European Championships in Manchester.
Selected for the London Olympics squad.
August 9: Wins gold medal at London 2012, beating China's Yuzhuo Hou in the -57kg final.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-2186274/London-2012-Olympics-Jade-Jones-wins-gold-taekwondo.html#ixzz235e4ZnzV
