JAMAICAN female microweight, Marissa Jones, got a major confidence boost recently after scoring a clinical victory at the fifth International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) Africa Cup in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The pint-sized Rising Sun Karate fighter battled her way past rivals to win the female black belt title at the Africa Cup, which featured participants from Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Madagascar, South Sudan, Uganda, Djibuti, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

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Winning gold in Africa was a relief for Jones, who was beaten in the first round of continuous sparring at July’s International Sports Karate association (ISKA) US Open and watched as teammate Sheckema Cunningham won the division.

Even though she rebounded the following day to reach the clash-sparring final and battled to silver in an all-Jamaica final won by Cunningham, Jones was not satisfied.

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“I stuck to my fight plan. It was really hard, but I am elated, “said the Rising Sun Karate fighter, after winning the hearts of the Africans as she mowed her way to the final and first major ITF title.

Jones was drafted into Jamaica’s female combined martial arts squad five seasons ago and has consistently medalled at ISKA tournaments as well as the US Open.

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Coach Jason McKay said Jones’ day was always on the cards.

“I told her from the camp for this competition that her skill set was superior, but because of her height and reach, she would have to be really athletic, so we trained her fitness more than anything else. It was hard, but she trained hard and was well prepared,” he added.

Jones was among three female lightweights who contributed significantly to Jamaica’s record haul at the US Open. The Jamaicans won five of 34 gold medals, in addition to two silver and two bronze.