Aaron Cook has admitted that he is "extremely disappointed" by his early exit from the men's -80kg category at the 2015 European Games in Baku.
Cook entered the day as top seed and was expected to make it all the way to the final in just his second competition representing Moldova, following a bitter struggle with Team GB after his controversial exclusion from the London 2012 taekwondo squad.
However, having cruised past Kosovo's Arbes Jahiri in the opening round, the 24-year-old fell to a shock 8-7 defeat at the hands of Julio Ferreira via a golden point.
His defeat ended any possibility of a semi-final against rival Lutalo Muhammad, who was chosen ahead of then-world number one Cook for the home Olympics three years ago, while Ferreira's loss in the semis also ended his chance of a place in the repechage.
After his fate was sealed, Cook spoke to Sports Mole about the reasons behind his under-par performance, the Rio Olympics and his switch of nationality to Moldova.
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What's your overriding emotion following today's events?
"I'm extremely disappointed. I know I can do a lot better. My preparation was not the best after the Worlds, I was very depressed for a week and I tried to continue my training but... I'm just very disappointed.
"It's a very good set-up, very similar to the Olympic Games, so it's very good practice. I'm just disappointed that I went out on a golden point again."
What happened in that quarter-final? Was it a case of your own mistakes costing you?
"Yeah, loads of mistakes. He's a very good counter-fighter and I let him go 5-0 up, so that was my first mistake. Then I was chasing the match, chasing the match, wasting a lot of energy and trying to just get the match back level.
"At 7-7 I tried a couple of punches and the golden point could have gone either way. The golden point is just a lottery, and this time around unfortunately I lost."
Did that slow start ultimately cost you in the end, even though you did manage to level things up again late on to force the golden point?
"Yeah, I just felt really sluggish. I wasn't aware, wasn't focused. I think it was just a lack of sparring. I don't have any sparring partners to train with at the moment, and it's showing at the moment in my first couple of rounds."
You had an expected, routine win in the first round. Were you not feeling a bit better after that?
"He wasn't a top-level competitor so I couldn't really take much from that match. I just got through the match and I knew that the second match and each match was going to get harder and harder. So I couldn't really take much from that first match."
You're still well placed in the Olympic rankings, with the top six being guaranteed a spot in Rio, but how big a missed opportunity is this to cement your place towards the top?
"It's a missed 40-point opportunity. I was just in front of Albert Gaun, who's just got into the final, so I'm probably going to lose a couple of positions in the rankings, but there's still a long way to go. There are still a lot of grands prix, I just have to get my training right and get working on a lot of things.
"This competition and the World Championships showed me that I need to work on a lot of different things, and now we're going to have the time to practise on them. I didn't have the time in between the Worlds and this competition, I just continued what I was doing."
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Are you finally able to focus fully on Rio now that the issue over your nationality has been resolved?
"Yeah, I'm very happy with that. I would have liked to have gone a couple of steps further today and try to get a medal for Moldova. But I know if I just keep pushing and keep pushing and try to improve on my position from here, make sure I'm in the top six, then I'll go to Rio and hopefully try to get the first ever gold medal for Moldova."
Does it take a bit of time to get used to representing Moldova?
"Not really. Everyone has been very friendly. I've known them all for about a year - it's been a year in the making. Everyone behind the scenes has been fantastic to make this happen. It's not just happened overnight.
"And now we've got the approval from the BOA it's fantastic. Now I can just focus on my competitions and make sure I'm in the top six of the rankings and have my chance at the Olympics."
Most people would have wanted to see Cook vs. Muhammad - a fight the latter compared to Ali vs. Frazier. Is there an extra tinge of disappointment because you were unable to face him, even though he also lost his quarter-final?
"Yeah of course. It didn't happen today but I'm sure it will happen at some point. He's a very good fighter and I'm sure we'll meet in a grand prix or... it'll happen. It will happen again."
Now I suppose it's a case of supporting your girlfriend Bianca Walkden, who fights in the women's +67kg event tomorrow having already seen teammates Charlie Maddock and Jade Jones pick up gold in Baku...
"Yeah, I hope she gets the gold medal tomorrow. Obviously Great Britain have already got two gold medals, and maybe she can make it three. Fingers crossed for her, and hopefully she can do a bit better than me."
Barney Corkhill
