Matt Busch won Euro gold after a ‘sleepless night’

Matt Bush says he will continue to face the challenges he faces in para-taekwondo after winning European gold for Great Britain two months after the birth of his second child.

The Welshman clinched the European Taekwondo Championships title in Munich in midweek as he built his K44 men’s +80kg to victory over Croatia’s Ivan Mikulic.

“The preparation was definitely more challenging,” Bush said BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

“It’s been a busy, busy year. There’s been a lot going on. I’ve got my little boy now, I’ve got my little girl who’s two, so it’s full.

“Sleepless nights and stuff, when the key to recovery — my main method of recovery is sleep, so when that goes out the window, it gets pretty tough.

“They’re just obstacles, so everything’s going to be different. You’re never going to have the perfect run-up, the perfect preparation

“It doesn’t matter to me. On fight day, I’m going to get up, whatever happens, I’m going to get up, I’m going to get my kit, I’m going to get out there, I’m going to try and win. It doesn’t really matter to me.”

Busch’s Welsh compatriot Lauren Williams won the silver medal, losing to Lorena Brandel of Germany in the women’s +73kg final.

“It was integrated with the Olympic team, so we had a lot of crowds, a lot of people, a lot going on,” Bush said.

“We took a good, strong team – not the biggest team with us – but a high-quality team and the comeback was huge. Almost everyone won medals, their performances were really good. It was just overwhelming.”

Bush said his own success came after Mikulic went ahead on points as the contest progressed, eventually winning 18-16 on a flurry of kicks in the final seconds.

“In the first round I saw that the game plan was working well and I directed him pretty well. In the second round he changed his game plan, came differently, so I had to adapt, came very close.

“The seconds were counting down, he kicked me, the point was up. I looked at my coach, he gave me the nod, the nod to turn it around a little bit.

“So I went into the next gear and pushed the speed on him and got the point back right at the last second.”