By Mathieu Rosemain
PARIS (Reuters) – Jade Jones’ hopes of a third Olympic medal in taekwondo were crushed on Thursday after the debutant who ousted the British double champion was herself defeated in the featherweight quarter-finals, closing a back door route to the podium.
Miljana Reljikj beat Jones 6-7 4-5 1-1 in a round of 16 contest at Paris’ Grand Palais, ending the Welshwoman’s dreams of a third Olympic gold medal from the get-go.
She could have made it to a repechage for bronze had Reljikj managed to reach the final. But the North Macedonian lost to Lebanon’s Laetitia Aoun in her next bout, snuffing out Jones’ last chance.
“Of course, I’m devastated. I came here to win,” Jones, Olympic champion in London in 2012 and again in Rio four years later, told reporters after Reljikj’s defeat.
“I knew I could win, I had it in my body, but on the day I didn’t have the balls that it took and that made the difference.”
“The more you win, the harder it gets, the pressure, the mental side of it. It’s just tough,” Jones said.
Despite a difficult lead-up to the Games, Jones had strived to avoid a repeat of the same scenario she went through in Tokyo three years ago, when she was beaten at the same opening stage.
The Paris Olympics came a month after the UK Anti-Doping agency said Jones had an anti-doping violation after she failed to provide a sample to an official last December.
Jones was cleared by UKAD and allowed to compete in Paris because of “very exceptional circumstances” relating to her confidential medical records.
“It didn’t help, but that’s not the reason why I lost,” she said.
“I’m very grateful … to everybody for looking into it properly. I made a mistake.”
Pressed on her plans after this second shock defeat in a row at the Olympics, Jones said she would need time to reflect.
“I’ll just go back home, see my family and see what happens,” she said, adding when asked if she would compete again: “I don’t know yet. I’m not sure.”
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Alison Williams)
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