Britain finished yet another European Taekwondo Championships with a haul of seven medals and, after contributing bronze, Ruebyn Richards is determined to turn it into gold next time.
Richards along with teammate Andrew Deer pushed Britain’s medal tally to seven on the final day of the Europeans in Baku, claiming bronze in the -68kg and -74kg categories respectively.
Olympic champion Jade Jones had earlier at the Championships won -57kg silver while London 2012 bronze medallist Lutalo Muhammad had to settle for the third step of the podium in the -87kg.
Bianca Walkden claimed a fine gold in the +73kg while teenager Asia Bailey took another bronze and Damon Sansum lost to Aaron Cook, fighting for the Isle of Man, in the -80kg final as he ended with silver.
Seven medals in Azerbaijan matched the tally Britain achieved as they hosted the European Championships in Manchester in 2012 and Richards can’t wait for a shot at gold at the 2016 edition in Istanbul.
“I can’t be disappointed with a medal but to lose the way I did, with it being so close, is so frustrating,” said Richards. “I fought so well all day but I could have done more and it would have been me in the final.
“Those are things to work on, to turn this bronze into gold next time. But I’m improving and I’ve worked on extending my leads in fights rather than playing safe, which I did in the early rounds.
“I’m now looking at Suzhou in China and hopefully competing on the world stage in my first Grand Prix.”
© Sportsbeat 2014