A great display at the British Open gave British Taekwondo boss Gary Hall huge hope for London 2012.
Taekwondo boss full of hope after team display in Manchester
Team GB performance director Gary Hall is confident British Taekwondo is heading in the right direction towards London 2012.
The host nation dominated the British Open in Manchester as Jade Jones, Martin Stamper and Aaron Cook all collected gold, along with Bianca Walken.
Both Team GB fighters Jones and Stamper had medalled at the 2011 WTF World Championships in South Korea, where Sarah Stevenson overcame testing personal circumstances to win an emotional gold.
Cook, the 2010 European champion, had lost in the first round of the under-80kgs at the worlds, and since decided to leave the Team GB world class performance programme and go it alone in his bid to secure a coveted Olympic title.
Hall has already pre-selected the weight categories which will make up Britain's four home nation automatic qualification slots - and Jones, Stamper, Cook and Stevenson all look well placed to seek the approval of the selection panel next May.
Success
"To see British athletes getting into gold medal fights from such a world-class field is really good," Hall said.
"The fact we have got three of the four Olympic categories getting gold is great for British Taekwondo, both for the guys who work inside and out of the [Team GB] academy.
"We are really pleased with the progress and performances are really key. It is a maturing team in terms of both fighters and those who support them. These results have proved performances are going in the right direction, but selections have not yet been made.
"Following the European Championships, we will name the squad in June and the best performers in any of the weight categories will get the call from the selection panel."
The French Open at the end of November will be swiftly followed by the Olympic test event at ExCeL, before focus turns to the build-up for the European Championships which will be the final marker ahead of squad selection.
Cook move
Cook, ranked third in the world, believes his departure from Team GB has been a positive move, although one which sees the 20-year-old need to find independent funding.
"We have always said Aaron is a world-class talent and we did not think there was that much wrong," Hall said. "He had some bad performances against some decent fighters, but he has had a rethink and done it in a different way.
"Has that made a difference? I don't know, but he did fight really well against world-class opposition.
"It is great for Aaron and for British Taekwondo, because at the end of the day we need four weight categories which are hitting medals in major championships heading to the Olympic Games."
Stevenson, who claimed Olympic bronze at the Beijing Games, delivered a second world title earlier this year under the most testing of personal circumstances with both of her parents severely ill.
After her father Roy since lost his battle against a brain tumour, there would be no more meaningful medal at London 2012 were the 28-year-old Doncaster fighter to stand on the Olympic podium again.
"It is not about Taekwondo for Sarah at the moment, because she has got some immense family issues to deal with, so our hearts go out to her," Hall said.
"Let's hope the end of 2011 will see the start of a new period for Sarah and hopefully she can concentrate on the Olympics, where I have no doubt she can be up among the medals."
