By Gareth James

Wales’ double Olympic taekwondo champ Jade Jones was narrowly beaten into the silver medal spot in her first fight for eight months in Croatia.

The Flint fighter lost narrowly on golden point 27-25 to Turkey’s Hatice Kubra at the Open European Club Championship in Zagreb.

Jones had not fought since February due to a knee ligament injury and the COVID-19 suspension of competitions.

The 27-year-old dominated her opening match on her return beating Helena Kicema of Croatia 41-9.

Reigning world champ Jones then beat Joana Cunha of Portugal on points gap (29-0) to reach the final.

Jones’ last competition was the President’s Cup in Sweden in February where she was forced to pull out of the final after suffering a torn knee ligament injury.

But silver on her comeback will be a major boost as he begins the countdown to Tokyo when she will bid for an historic hat-trick of Olympic titles.