Caden Cunningham qualifies for Olympics as Aaliyah Powell beats GB taekwondo rival Jade Jones for first time

The 20-year-old from Huddersfield is headed to the Paris Olympics next summer despite cutting a frustrated figure after a shock defeat to Pasko Bozic in the last 16 of taekwondo’s World Grand Prix final in Manchester on Sunday.

Little could he have known at the time that because all his rivals for an Olympic spot were eliminated at the same stage, he retained his place in the top five in the world to seal a spot on the Team GB plane to Paris.

“I just wasn’t good enough today, I had to be better,” said heavyweight Cunningham after suffering the shock defeat.

“These days really, really annoy me. That’s why training will get a bit more venomous.”

Regardless of the early exit, Cunningham has roared into the heavyweight conversation at a comparatively young age when compared with traditional 80 and 87kg fighters who are normally in their early 30s when reaching their peak.

And his body of work over the last 12 months – winning a grand prix event in Rome at +80kg and the European Games gold medal in the +87kg category – has seen Cunningham punch his ticket to Paris.

“This weekend didn’t go fully as expected but the main aim was to qualify for the Olympics and I've done that now," said Cunningham.

"I think for the team as a whole it’s been a long year, a lot of competitions and travelling and they've all done so well.

"Everyone has given the performance their body could cope with and this is where we're at.

“I'm very happy to say that I’ve got a qualification to the Olympics, myself, my family and the team are happy.

“It was always a push to get to Paris especially after I had to have ACL surgery this time last year, it was up in the air if I could even get to this stage.

“But to have come back and to win the competitions I have and secure a qualification has been a very good experience to have gone through.”

His fellow Huddersfield taekwondo star Aaliyah Powell won a bronze medal in the -57kg category in Manchester on Saturday, defeating two-time Olympic champion and British team-mate Jade Jones en route to the semi-finals, but Powell still has work to do to beat out Jones for an Olympic place.

“Fighting Jade is never easy, but we are fighting to go to Paris, fighting to go to the Olympics but it’s good to be at the top level to show what next year can be," said Powell, after defeating Jones for the first time in her career.

Doncaster’s Bradly Sinden has already booked his spot for the Paris Olympics after reclaiming his world title in Baku earlier this year but the 25-year-old Tokyo silver medallist was a surprise beaten quarter-finalist in Manchester on Saturday.

He goes for gold in Paris next summer on Thursday, August 8, a day before Cunningham makes his bid for glory on the mat.

Elsewhere for Great Britain’s Paris hopefuls, Rebecca McGowan won the silver medal in the +67kg weight category.

Bianca Cook suffered a controversial quarter-final exit in the same division but McGowan fought her way through to the final, only to have to pull with an injury sustained earlier in the day.

“It was so amazing to do well, perform and show the home crowd what I am actually capable of," said McGowan. “It makes it even better to do it in front of my family and friends and it felt really good for that to have been the final competition before qualifying.”