Tokyo 2020: Bianca Walkden grabs taekwondo bronze after missing out on fight for gold

Bianca Walkden put the huge disappointment of missing out on a chance to fight for Olympic gold by seconds to clinch taekwondo bronze.

The three-time world champion showed admirable resolve to beat Poland’s Aleksandra Kowalczuk in the +67kg category at the Makuhari Hall in Tokyo to claim her second consecutive Olympic bronze.

Walkden established an early advantage with three single-shot punches, taking a two-point lead into the second round, but Kowalczuk claimed the only point of the next stanza to reduce the Brit’s lead to 4-3 going into the last.

Walkden restored her two-point lead with a shot to the body, then a two-point kick helped her pull clear to 7-3 going into the final minute of the contest – and it was an advantage that this time she would not surrender.

Earlier in the day, Walkden’s dream of gold came to an agonising end as she missed out on a place in the final with one second remaining.

The Liverpool athlete looked to have clinched victory when an infraction by the Korean put Walkden two points up with three seconds to go.

But in a repeat of Lutalo Muhammad’s shock gold medal loss in Rio in 2016, Walkden was left in despair when Lee delivered a three-point head kick to snatch a 25-24 win.