Great Britain taekwondo player Max Cater has admitted that the better man won following his exit in the quarter-finals of the men's -58kg event in Baku today.
The 17-year-old missed out on the chance to become the first male taekwondo gold medallist in European Games history when he fell to a 13-3 defeat at the hands of Belgium's Si Mohamed Ketbi.
Cater had earlier progressed to the quarters courtesy of a 7-4 victory over Dylan Chellamootoo, but Ketbi's defeat in the semis to Rui Braganca ensured that there would be no second chance of a medal in the repechage.
After his exit was confirmed, Cater spoke to Sports Mole about both of his fights, as well as what the defeat means for his hopes of making it to next year's Olympic Games in Rio.
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What are your overriding emotions about how this day has gone overall?
"The first fight was really good. I won against France and he was a tough player, he's been in the grands prix and he's been in the senior level for a couple of years now when I'm just coming into the senior.
"I knew I had a tough match coming up against Belgium, silver world medallist, and I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I looked at his weaknesses and I was just working my targets, it just wasn't my day. I was trying my best, and that's what I gave."
What was the difference in that quarter-final? You seemed to be kept on the back foot for much of it...
"Yeah, I was looking to control the match because in every fight he always controls the match. When he is getting controlled he switches off, and that's what I wanted. I wanted to control the match, but he was just better on the day, took the game and won it."
Do you think the 10-point gap at the end was an accurate representation of how the fight went?
"I think I could have done so much better than 10 points. I could have got him closer than 10..."
Does fighting someone who won a silver at the recent World Championships give you a good barometer of where you are as a fighter right now, particularly given that you are both the same age?
"In this sport you can fight anyone that age, it doesn't really show the age matters, but ability-wise he had better ability. He's just lost in the semis but he's a good player."
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You did manage to get a win at a major championships today - what will you take from that?
"I'll just try to use the experience. I need to use this as experience, and then next week I've got the Australian Open, so I just have to go over there and get a medal."
Is reaching Rio still a realistic possibility after this defeat, or are your sights set on Tokyo in 2020 instead now?
"It could be if I get the ranking points! Realistically I could do, but my aim is always going to be for Tokyo."
What have you taken from this whole experience, particularly given that it is your first multi-sport event?
"The amount of different athletes from different sports, that atmosphere is amazing. The Azerbaijan crowd was just amazing, cheering everyone on. When the Azerbaijan players were even just in the warm-up area, it was just unreal."
