Lauren Williams surged into the Olympic taekwondo final with a thrilling 24-18 win over Rio bronze medallist Ruth Gbagbi in Tokyo.
The Blackwood 22-year-old, whose season has been hit by injury, established an early 10-0 lead that she never surrendered to book a gold medal showdown in the -67kg category with top seed Matea Jelic of Croatia.
It capped a fine series of performances from Williams, coming just 24 hours after her compatriot Jade Jones missed her chance to claim an unprecedented third straight title.
Former kick-boxing star Williams stopped her first opponent Malia Paseka of Tonga in the opening round, then withstood a ferocious last-round fightback to beat experienced Egyptian Hedaya Wahba 13-12.
Williams, a two-time European champion who is making her Olympic debut, was up against it in her semi-final against her experienced opponent from the Ivory Coast.
But a blistered start surely settled her nerves and a thoroughly composed performance ensured she would guarantee Great Britain’s second taekwondo medal – and a shot at gold – later on Monday.
