She might be unbeaten so far in 2015 but Olympic champion Jade Jones insists she is not taking anything for granted ahead of next week’s World Taekwondo Championships in Russia.
Jones has been in unstoppable form this year, winning sixth successive titles with the latest coming at the Dutch Open in March.
But complacency is not a word in the 22-year-old’s vocabulary with Jones working hard on all aspects of her game to ensure she has the moves for whatever the situation.
Back in 2011, she was denied World Championships gold on sudden death by China’s Yuzhou Huo while in 2013, a year after claiming the London 2012 57kg title, she missed out on a medal on a sudden-death golden point.
And while conscious that anything could happen on the day this time around at the Championships in Chelyabinsk – things kicking off in Russia on May 12 – Jones is adamant it can be third time lucky.
“It’s going to be amazing if I can win the World Championships. To be known as both world and Olympic champion would be just a dream come true,” she said.
“Even though I’ve been doing so well, I know how hard it’s going to be. There are so many good girls out there and even random floaters who are not on the scene yet but could surprise you.
“I’m just going to take each fight at a time, literally go for and put everything on the mat and then I can walk away happy no matter what.
“I’ve got a really good base and I’m good at what I’m good at. But it’s been about adding more weapons, so if I need them at the World Championships or somewhere else, then I have them and am able to pull something else out of the bag.
“I’ve got to constantly change my game because I’m constantly fighting the same girls and they will know exactly what I’m going to do if I didn’t mix things up. I like to always try and have a little surprise up my sleeve to try and trick them.”
This year’s World Championships will also hold extra significance for Jones with the competition offering valuable qualification points for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio.
And Jones concedes a title in Russia would go a long way to determining her plans for the rest of the year.
“I want to become world champion anyway but also it’s 120 points on offer which would just make my qualification for Rio just so much easier,” she added.
“If I was successful then I can just chill out and pick and choose which competitions I want to do for the rest of the year.
“It will give me a lot of confidence going into Rio so it’s really important I do well at the Worlds.”
The World Taekwondo Grand Prix – featuring the very best Olympic and World Champions from across the globe – is coming to Manchester on 16-18 October. Experience the excitement, drama and electrifying atmosphere of this explosive Olympic sport with tickets on sale 19 May at www.ticketmaster.co.uk/wtgp
Main image courtesy of Jaguar Academy via YouTube, with thanks.
