Two great finals tonight at the Olympic Arena in Baku. Congrats to all the medalists! Heres our report: UNLUCKY SANSUM AS COOK SERVES UP LAST GASP EURO SUCCESS AARON Cook retained his European Championship title in Azerbaijan tonight with a dramatic golden point win in a pulsating -80kg battle with GB’s Damon Sansum. It was agony for Sansum who put out world champion Tahir Guelec en route to a final where he led 5-1, 7-4 and 10-9. But he then needed a last second punch to force over-time only for Cook,23, to claim his third European title after successes in 2010 and 2012. Sansums GB Academy team mate and Olympic champion, Jade Jones, also had to settle for silver, edged out in a re-match of last Decembers World Grand Prix -57kg final against Spaniard Eva Calvo Gomez. Sansum who beat Cook in last years French Open final, admitted: I thought it was going to be my day. I performed as well as I think I ever have, with 12-point finishes in three of my five fights and beating the world champion on the way. I felt nobody could deal with me in the ring. I had a strategy in overtime and I know what he was coming with but my cover wasnt there. It was my mistake, a lapse in concentration. On his latest match-up with Cook, Sansum replied: This is the fourth final weve had in the last five months. Were going to meet each other a lot. Im not really that happy with silver but my goal is gold at the Olympics, not at the Euros. Im on target and I know I can be the best. Im really happy to have won as it was a tough battle, said Cook. Im in good form and really delighted to get some valuable ranking points on the road to Rio. Jones led Gomez 6-3 and then 9-6 midway through the final round. However, the Spaniard struck back with her own head shot to level at 9-all before pulling away to win 11-9. Im gutted with just the silver but at least Im picking up ranking points, said the Flint born star who now has one silver and two bronze medals from her Euro campaigns. I managed to get ahead a couple of times with good head shots. But I made a mistake at the end and she got me back. I had a good day but it was a tough, draining event. The focus now is on the World Grand Prix series and protecting my number one ranking. Jones might have been disappointed with silver but it could have been worse. She trailed Aline Gbete 6-0 going into the last three minutes of her first round match before striking back with seven unanswered points to snatch victory off her French rival. Jones then dropped only five points in her next two bouts to reach the final only to suffer final heartbreak. Beijing Olympian Michael Harvey made a disappointing defence of his -63kg title. After a first round bye the 2011 world silver medallist lost 18-6 against Serbias Nikola Vuckovic, never recovering from suffering two early head shots. However, the GB squad has now won five medals with one day of competition to come. Results: Men: -63kg: Michael Harvey (Manchester) Round One: Bye Round Two: lost 18-6 to Nikola Vuckovic (Serbia) -80kg: Damon Sansum (Elgin) Round One: bt Armin Gredic (Bosnia Herzegovina) 21-9 Round Two: bt Nikolaos Tzellos (Greece) 11-8 Quarter-final: bt Tahir Guelec (Germany) 16-4 Semi-final: bt Ramin Azizov (Azerbaijan) 16-4 Final: lost 13-12 (golden point) to Aaron Cook (Isle of Man) Women: -57kg: Jade Jones (Flint) Round One: Bye Round Two: bt Aline Dossou (France) 7-6 Quarter-final: Joana Cunha (Portugal) 7-3 Semi-final: bt Gunay Aghakishiyeva (Azerbaijan) 9-2 Final: lost 11-9 to Eva Calvo Gomez (Spain) SCHEDULE May 4: Men: -68kg: Ruebyn Richards (Nottingham) -74kg: Andrew Deer (Tamworth) Women: -53kg: Nicole Huntington (Ipswich).
Posted on: Sat, 03 May 2014 17:48:52 +0000
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