LAST UPDATE | 7 Aug

IRELAND’S JACK WOOLLEY lost in his second shot at the Paris Olympic Games against Spain’s Adrián Vicente in the taekwondo men’s 58kg repechage this evening.

Woolley was handed a reprieve and could have still won a bronze medal despite earlier losing his opening bout 2-0 to Azerbaijan’s Gashin Magomedov.

However, Vicente proved too good for Woolley in a close-fought encounter.

The Irish star established an early two-point lead, but the Spaniard recovered, narrowly winning the opening round 10-9.

It remained tight throughout and after the second round finished 2-2, Vicente just about prevailed.

The earlier defeat had left Woolley facing an agonising wait to see if his competition would continue or end at the first hurdle. To qualify for the repechage, the Dubliner needed Magomedov to win two further bouts and reach the gold-medal decider.

The Azerbaijani held up his end of the bargain, winning a quarter-final and semi-final to bring Woolley back into bronze-medal contention.

Woolley bowed out of the Tokyo Games without a second chance but acquitted himself well in the preliminary repechage match against Vicente, a bronze medallist at last year’s World Championships.

The Spaniard next faces a beaten semi-finalist for an Olympic bronze medal later this evening.

In his 58kg curtain-raiser this afternoon, Woolley fell 4-0 behind in the first round to eventual finalist Magomedov, three of whose points were for a head-kick.

Woolley pulled a point back before his Azerbaijani opponent was awarded a further three following a video review. The Irishman dug deep to lose the first round by only three points, 7-4, but he needed to win the second to keep the fight alive.

Woolley took an early 3-0 lead in the second round with a head-kick of his own but Magomedov ultimately prevailed 12-7 in a high-scoring verse.

'Six months ago, I wouldn't have seen myself here, in the head space that I'm in' - A disappointed Jack Woolley talks to RTÉ Sport following his defeat in the Taekwondo 58kg #RTESport #Paris2024
📺 Watch https://t.co/b2OI4OoWVJ
📱Updates https://t.co/qupZp4QZEF pic.twitter.com/rmE5ds5PYo

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 7, 2024