Heartbreak for Bradly Sinden as taekwondo Olympic gold medal hopes crumble with the injured Team GB star admitting 'life isn't always fairy-tales'

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At around 7pm local time, not long before he was scheduled to fight for a medal, Bradly Sinden was crying by the steps outside the Grand Palais.

This was supposed to be the biggest night of his career. His chance to go one better than Tokyo, where a kick to the head knocked him out of the gold medal position with eight seconds to go.

Sheryl, his mother, flew over dreaming of big things, thanks to her daughter who set up a GoFundMe page to pay for the trip from Doncaster. She watched with pride as her son beat Kevin Sogo Kassman into submission in the opening round, fighting with the pointe of a ballerina and the twist of a bullet.

But the Olympic stage is an unforgiving place and one jolt of his left knee brought his taekwondo campaign to a slow and sorry end. 

Sinden fought through the pain to reach the semi-final but it was one fight too far. He was unable to execute the kicks that won him two world titles and was eliminated to the bronze medal repechage.

Bradly Sinden was left heartbroken as his gold medal hopes in taekwondo were crushed

The Team GB star was looking to build on the silver medal that he won at the Tokyo Games

One jolt of his left knee brought Sinden's taekwondo campaign to a slow and sorry end

That’s when he stepped outside and his body told him that he could no longer carry on. ‘I came here for gold and I thought I’d got myself in a good position to get gold,’ he said. ‘In my second fight I felt my knee go. I felt a bit unstable with my leg and I couldn’t do the kicks I wanted.

‘Knowing how restricted I was, I know my body didn’t have it. I would have loved to become a two-time medallist. I spoke to my coach, my girlfriend, my mum but in the end it was my decision. 

'No one else can make that decision for you. It was a tough call to make but I live with my decisions.

‘I commend people who can get back up for that bronze medal match. To fight in that bronze medal match and still potentially lose… it’s not how I’d want to end. This isn’t the way I wanted to end.’

Sinden checked in for ultrasound and ended the day with a knee brace and crutches

The afterparty was cancelled. It was a bad day for the Brits all around in one of Paris’ most spectacular venues. Double champion Jade Jones left in tears after being knocked out in the opening round and Sinden was not far behind. 

He checked in for ultrasound examination and ended the day with a knee brace and crutches. He added: ‘I wanted to get gold and upgrade from Tokyo but life isn’t always fairy-tales.’