The women's taekwondo folded again, and Zhou Lijun regretted that she did not qualify for the semifinals

In the just-concluded Quarterfinals of the Taekwondo Women's 57 kg at the Just-Concluded Tokyo Olympics, China's Zhou Lijun lost to Iran's Arizadeh, who represented the refugee delegation, by a point and missed the semifinals.

The 23-year-old, although only 16th in the Olympic points ranking, is not a generalist. She won the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics five years ago, and in the Round of 16 of the Tokyo Olympic Games, she fought hard to eliminate the world's number one two-time defending Olympic champion and Britain's Jed Jones.

Zhou Lijun, 22, is a rookie in the Tokyo Olympic cycle, reaching the finals of the Grand Slam Finals from 2017 to 2019 and winning the title in 2018 and 2019. She also won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships. In this battle in Tokyo, Zhou Lijun's goal is to seize gold. In the morning of the round of 16, she achieved a big comeback after falling behind in the first two sets, defeating Poland's Adamkovic.

In the quarter-finals, facing the height-dominant Arizadeh, Zhou Lijun did not take advantage of the first set, and the melee tactics were repeatedly tried to be ineffective, falling behind 1-3. In the second set, the Chinese girl stubbornly chased after the score, and at the end of the game, the score was reversed to 6-4.

At the beginning of the third set, Arizad equalised. Since then, the confrontation between the two sides has become more intense. With 40 seconds left in the game, the opponent suddenly unleashed a cold arrow and hit Zhou Lijun in the head. Zhou Lijun immediately hit the opponent's body, but the score was still behind. Although Zhou Lijun then actively attacked, he failed to find a good opportunity, and finally lost 8-9 and missed the semifinals. She still had a chance to compete for the bronze medal through the repechage.