17th May 2019

Brilliant Bradly Sinden became Britain’s first male able-bodied taekwondo champion and his country’s second gold medallist on a momentous night at the World Championships in Manchester.

The 20-year-old from Doncaster, bronze medallist in South Korea two years ago, kept his cool to take out Spain’s Javier Perez Polo in the -68kg final.

It was a stunning win for Sinden who follows in the footsteps of another Doncaster raised taekwondo star, double former world champion, Sarah Stevenson.

Now, eight years after Stevenson gained her second gold, Sinden climbed on top of the podium.

“It must be something we drink in Doncaster,” smiled Sinden after a thrilling 24-21 win. “We are certainly a force to be reckoned with.

“Sarah showed me I could do what I wanted if I put my mind to it. But it’s a credit to my mum on how she raised me and kept me on the right track.

“I might be kicking off at home saying I didn’t want to go to training after a bad comp. She would just say ‘okay’ but obviously knew I would because I loved the sport too much.”

Earlier this year Welshman Matt Bush took the Para World title in Turkey.

Now, Sinden has claimed the prize many teammates had tried and failed to achieve including Coach, Martin Stamper, a bronze medallist in 2011.

“I am always happy when everyone succeeds,” said the Yorkshire fighter.

“I want everyone to be their best in each weight category and we want to show how dominant GB is at the sport. But to bring it home for the boys is amazing,” he said.

“To become world or Olympic champion is a dream come true. Hopefully, I can do both because that’s what I am here to do.”

Sinden won five fights on Thursday including an epic semi-final win over South Korean legend, Dae-hoon Lee.

“I beat Lee in the Grand Slam (last December) but then missed out on golden point in the final. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I was here to take the gold and I have.”

Londoner Christian McNeish suffered the disappointment of a first match exit against former junior world champion Amir Mohammad Bakhshi.

The -68kg European champ from Plaistow produced a battling display but eventually slipped to an 11-7, last 32 defeat.