Bradly Sinden knows that there is only one way the put the pain of Tokyo behind him – to win gold in Paris this summer.

Now a two-time taekwondo world champion, the 25-year-old from Doncaster will head to the French capital for his second Olympics, looking to upgrade the silver he won three years ago.

On that occasion, he was leading heading into the final seconds of a bout with Uzbekistan’s Ulugbek Rashitov, only to suffer heartbreak.

But it is that disappointment that has driven him on, taking the world title in 2023 and heading to Paris as one of the favourites for gold.

He said: “These last three years, this has been what is has been all about. After Tokyo, it was about getting back and getting selected again to go to Paris. That was the only goal that I wanted to tick off. I wanted gold in Paris and to be Olympic champion. I’ve had the worlds, and had to wait three years to try and go again.

“I’m proud to see how my journey went and so quickly. Within five years of being on the team, I already had won the Worlds and to come away with an Olympic silver medal.

“Looking back on it, it’s still a great achievement, but it’s not the achievement I want. I’ve still got the disappointment, that will always be there, unless I win in Paris.

“If I win in Paris, I’ll be able to forget about it, it won’t really matter. But it will always be there.”

Sinden has left no stone unturned in his preparation for Paris and he will be joined at the Games by girlfriend Rebecca McGowan, selected for Team GB in the women’s heavyweight category.

His support network will also include Aldi, who have been the Official Supermarket of Team GB since 2015. Already one of Team GB’s longest-serving partners, this partnership has now been extended to 17 years until 2032, reaffirming Aldi’s multi-million-pound investment in both Team GB and its athletes.

Moving on from his Tokyo disappointment was not easy, with a change to the rules in taekwondo making things even trickier Sinden.

But moping around is not really his style. So having put his frustrations to one side, Sinden has kicked on to new heights.

He added: “After the Olympics, once you have got that out of the way, you need time off to rest and recuperate, mentally and physically. That is what I did. I needed surgery at the back end of the year on my foot. So the back end of that year was pretty chill for me.

“In 2022, we found out the rules were changing, so that took our focus. It was hard, sometimes in my head, I would think ‘the rules have changed, I’m not doing it’.

“I could have just sat down and said I’ve done what I needed to do, I’m retiring. But I knew I still had a job to do, that’s what I’ve always wanted. Ever since I’ve been a little kid, it’s what I’ve wanted so it’s always reminding myself of that, in the hard times, when I’m injured or my body is banged up or training and results aren’t going the way I want.

“2022 wasn’t the best year for me, so I just had to grind through it. In 2023, we had a good year, won the Worlds, back end wasn’t amazing, I picked up an injury at the European Games which lingered a bit. But it was all cleared up and this year I won the Europeans again and the Belgian Grand Prix so it shows that I’m in the right position, it gives me that confidence for the next few weeks for when I step on that mat.”

Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024