Great Britain's Charlie Maddock has vowed to learn from her defeat at the hands of taekwondo star Wu Jingyu in the World Championships.
Maddock was competing in her first World Championships in Russia last month, making it to the quarter-finals before being dispatched 15-0 by her Chinese opponent, who went on to win silver.
However, the 19-year-old believes that she is a better fighter because of the experience ahead of the inaugural European Games in Baku.
Maddock could become the first taekwondo gold medalist in European Games history with victory on Tuesday, and she spoke to Sports Mole about her chances.
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How are you feeling coming into these Games?
"I'm feeling really good. The preparation has been continued from the World Championships straight through to Baku. I've tried not to get out of routine in the weeks in between so it's just constant training, diet, running."
How are you finding the whole experience of being involved in a multi-sport event?
"It's great, getting to know different sports and actually talking to people in other sports and see what their experience is like in their training, what they do and what's it like for them."
You're still relatively new to the taekwondo scene - is it just a case of picking up experience on the way to Rio and beyond right now?
"Yeah definitely, so hopefully if I do make it to Rio or Tokyo, anything like this again, I know what it's going to be like and it's not going to be such a big shock."
You were a seven-time world junior kickboxing champion, so you know what it is like to be the best in the world at your discipline. Does that give you an advantage in trying to become the best in your taekwondo category too?
"Yeah, seeing from the other girls as well - they're big role models so it's good that if I have any problems I can ask them. If I'm worried about them I could go and ask them for their experience about stuff."
Are you happy with the rate of your progression so far?
"Definitely. I think it's going the right way, so hopefully the ranking points from this tournament will get me into do grands prix, if I get a medal. From there, that's where the big points come from."
Did your recent appearance at the World Championships give you something to build on?
"That was my first World Championships in taekwondo, so it was overwhelming to be honest. Coming up against the world's greatest, she's like a legend. It was a great experience and I take a lot of lessons from that. It's stuff to take back to the gym and work on."
Barney Corkhill
