Taekwondo

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Marlene Jahl (right) lost her first fight and was eliminated.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Even if it took hours before it was clear in the end: for Marlene Jahl, the Olympic Games in Paris came to an end on Saturday after a defeat in her first fight - and with it her sporting career, as she confirmed to ORF.

The 29-year-old taekwondo fighter was defeated 0:2 in the Grand Palais in the over 67 kg weight class by Chinese number seven Zhou Zeqi, who was later defeated by South Korean Lee Da-bin, blocking the Upper Austrian's path to the bronze medal round.

Work in clinic awaits
Jahl is now opening a new chapter in her life, next week she will begin her clinical practical year after completing her medical studies. She had actually planned to finish her sporting career at the European Championships in Belgrade in May (fifth place), but in mid-June she was given a ticket to the Olympic Games and started her preparations for the last major highlight.

Of course, she had imagined it differently. Jahl explained that she got into the fight very well and played to her strengths. "You don't pick up points that easily. We were level in the first round until ten seconds before the end, then I wanted to take maximum risk and go for a point, but unfortunately that didn't work out."

Marlene Jahl(Bild: GEPA pictures)

In the second round, she tried to go all out again and managed to score one point. "Then I made a mistake at half distance and was countered." Overall, she thought she could exert more pressure. "The first round was even. I perhaps tried a bit too much after that. I didn't want to be accused of anything."