By Paul Osborne at Manchester Central Convention Complex

Great Britain's Lutalo Muhammad takes gold on day two of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix ©FTPDecember 14 - Another final, another superb gold for Great Britain as Lutalo Muhammad overcame Russia's Albert Gaun in a thrilling contest to secure victory on the second day of the inaugural World Taekwondo Grand Prix here today.


Britain's athletes look to be enjoying the sudden death period, with Muhammad following in the footsteps yesterday of his heavyweight teammate Mahama Cho by edging to victory with a golden point in another tense affair in the under 80 kilogram category. 

The Aaaron Cook versus Muhammad final, so highly anticipated in the build up to this competition, had been thwarted by Gaun in the semi-final with the Russian ending an incredible 9-9 contest by landing a turning kick to take victory in sudden death.

The world and European champion looked to disappoint the crowd again in the final as he moved ahead with just 30 seconds left of the second round following a somewhat subdued opening.

Britain's London 2012 bronze medallist turned up the heat in the third and final round, aiming an early kick to his opponent's head that had the crowd on their feet.

Despite a failed instant replay attempt, Muhammad continued to push for the equaliser throwing heart and soul at his opponent to the delight of the home crowd.

Muhammad claims the second British gold in two days with a sudden death victory in the -80kg weight category ©FTPLutalo Muhammad claims the second British gold in two days with a sudden death victory in the under 80 kilogram weight category ©FTP



His efforts eventually paid off as he gained the all important point to bring the tie level in the final minute of the match.

The drama levels increased again shortly after when Muhammad felt he landed a kick to the head in the dying seconds of the fight.

The Briton had no way to challenge the call having lost his review card in an earlier attempt, however, as if on cue, in stepped the judges who decide contact was made, awarding three points to Muhammad.

The drama did not stop there, though, as the Russian coach held up his red card, signalling for a review of the decision.

Following a long, considered look at the video replays, the judges gave the thumbs up declaring the review successful and sending the contest through to sudden death.

Buoyed on by the rapturous support of the home crowd, Muhammad went on to land a superb kick to the Russian's hugo giving him the win and the first ever World Taekwondo Grand Prix under 80 kilogram title.

"Winning is a brilliant feeling," said Muhammad.

"He [Gaun] is difficult to score against but fortunately my coach managed to slap it out of me and I managed to get some points in the third and then get the golden point."

The first final of the evening was won by South Korea's Taehun Kim ©FTPThe first final of the evening was won by South Korea's Taehun Kim ©FTP



The first final of the evening was another extremely close encounter as South Korea's Taehun Kim took on Chinese Taipei's Chen-Yang Wei in the men's under 58kg category.

Having to follow on from the exhilarating Cook/Gaun semi-final was never going to be an easy feat for the lightweight duo and the opening couple of minutes proved a somewhat subdued affair both on and off the mat.

Things spiced in the second round as a flurry of early blows left the score at two points to one in favour of the South Korean, with another quick point extending his advantage to two.

Wei began to battle back after this, landing a turning kick to level the tie before pushing on in the final round to edge a 6-5 victory and earning the first gold medal of the evening.

The second final proved a more one sided encounter as Sweden's Elin Johansson overcame Chinese Taipei's Chia Chia Chuang in the women's under 67kg division.

An early Chaung head shot was successfully appealed by Johansson in an otherwise quiet first round.

The Swede took the initiative after this taking a five point lead into the final round before countering her opponent's desperate attempts to level with some superb blows of her own to give her a 9-2 victory and a well deserved gold medal.

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