Sierra Leone judoka Mariama Koroma was knocked out of the Paris Olympics women’s -57 kg event after losing in the round of 32 on Monday.
The 17-year-old lost to Taiwan veteran Lien Chen-ling by Ippon 1:0 in a fight that lasted 1:06 sec.
The young Judoka who showed much confidence in the fight failed to score before the end of regulation time.
However, the win saw Lien advanced to the round of 16 before losing to Perišić of Coratia with whom she had split their previous two meetings.
Koroma’s loss means Team Sierra Leone has completed its judo journey in Paris this summer.
Reacting to the loss, the President of the Sierra Leone Judo Association, Idriss Massaquoi was pleased with the show of confidence the young athletes displayed.
The 17-year-old who became the first Sierra Leone athlete to take the stage in this year’s Games left her President who was with her at the Champ de Mars Arena, currently known as the Grand Palais Éphémère did not focus on the result but rather the youngster’s show of confidence on the world stage.
“Honestly, I was so impressed and pleased with the show of self-confidence. From the start to the end of the fight she showed much confidence and her approach was very impressive for an Olympics debutant,” Massaquoi said.
The Judo Association President who is also a coach explained that before the fight, Koroma explained her approach and game plan and that everything she explained she implemented.
He said: “She had a game plan and she used them. She showed she had her natural ability and we need to work on her improvement on that ability.”