The under 57 kilogram competitor become Britain's first ever Olympic taekwondo champion at London 2012 when she ousted China's Hou Yuzhou 6-4 in the final.

The 21-year-old came agonisingly close to securing gold in the inaugural WTF Grand Prix in Manchester last December, but fell to Spain's Eva Calvo Gomez in the final.

Jones' chance of redemption ran short in the opening Grand Prix event of 2014 in Suzhou, China, when she was knocked out by South Korea's So-hee Kim in the quarter-finals.

The world number one looked more of her usual self in Astana last month where she made it to the final of the year's second Grand Prix series.

Here she met world number two and rising star Gomez, who yet again got the better of the Briton to secure the top prize.

Jade Jones fell to rival Eva Calvo Gomez at the inaugural Grand Prix in Manchester last December and will be hoping to exact revenge this time around ©Getty Images


Despite the setbacks, Jones remains confident the latest Grand Prix, due to take at Manchester Central in the English city on October 24 until 26, the penultimate event of the year, will bring the opportunity needed to strike gold and set her well on her way to Rio 2016.

"At the halfway point between London and Rio, I'm in a really good place physically and mentally," she said.

"There's still a lot more to come from me and I'm confident looking ahead to Rio.

"I'm really looking forward to the Grand Prix in Manchester.

"I love performing in the UK and it means a lot to the whole GB team, particularly as we're based here.

"It's a great opportunity for sports fans to come and see us in action.

"All my friends and family come and watch me when I'm competing in the UK as well and I perform better when they're there - I feel really motivated and fight harder in front of them."

Britain's Lutalo Muhammad secured bronze at London 2012 before sealing gold in the inaugural Manchester Grand Prix last December ©Getty Images



Jones' team mate Lutalo Muhammad will be another strong British competitor at the event as he looks to defend the under 80g title he picked up in last year's event.

"The Grand Prix has given us the perfect opportunity to perform against the world's best in front of a home crowd.

"The brilliant atmosphere last year was without doubt the best I've experienced since the Olympics and I hope the venue will once again be packed to the rafters to help me defend my title."

Meanwhile, another Brition, Mahama Cho, who has collected medals in all three Grand Prix since the series started in the over 80kg category, having won gold in Manchester, silver in Kazakhstan and bronze in China, will also be a likely medal contender when he takes to the mat inside the Manchester Central arena.

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