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JONES HONOURED BY HUMANITARIAN ROLE

European Championship 19.05.2016 Evening-98

New European champion Jade Jones has been named one of three inaugural humanitarian ambassadors by Taekwondo’s world governing body.

The 23-year-old 2012 Olympic gold medallist was confirmed in her new role at the opening ceremony for the European Championships taking place in Montreux, Switzerland.

And the Welsh star celebrated the award by taking her first European title with victory over Sweden’s Nikita Glasnovic in the -57kg final on Friday evening.

“It has been an amazing couple of days,” confirmed Jones. “It’s an honour to be chosen as a humanitarian ambassador for the sport I love.

“Taekwondo has helped make me the person I am today and I will do my best to live up to the responsibility placed on me by the World Taekwondo Federation.”

Plans for the World Taekwondo Federation’s Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation were announced by WTF President, Chungwon Choue, at the United Nations in September last year.

European Championship 19.05.2016 Evening-99

The project was launched at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, at the end of 2015 with the camp welcoming 14 members of the WTF Taekwondo Demonstration Team. A second pilot initiative was rolled out in earthquake hit Nepal back in January.

As part of a planned worldwide introduction of the scheme, the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) will deploy coaches and instructors to refugee camps globally, teaching the benefits of fitness, sport, self defence, self belief and self respect.

It is hoped, through Taekwondo, the quality of life for children and adults can be raised.

Jones, hoping to defend her Olympic -57kg title in Rio this summer, was appointed alongside Moldova’s double European champion, Aaron Cook, and Iranian born, Raheleh Asemani.

Asemani now lives in Belgium and fought under the WTF banner to qualify for the Rio Games. She was bronze medallist as Jones added to her previous two European bronze medals and a silver with victory over Glasnovic.

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