Sasha Mehmedovic was crushed, despite losing by the slimmest of margins.
    
The North York resident was reduced to tears, unable to continue an interview with the media following his elimination from judo in the 66kg class at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.

After leading 1-0 with under 10 seconds to go against Russian Alim Gadanov in a repechage that would have sent the winner to the bronze medal match, the 22-year-old was penalized for a point for a false attack, sending the match into a Golden Score. Another point earned by the Russian in the extra time ended the Olympics for Mehmedovic.
  
He entered the media common zone in tears, taking a couple of minutes to compose himself before doing a television interview, then facing the print media. He left the zone the same way he came in, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"My whole family was here – my brother, my mom and dad, my girlfriend and her parents," he said of the family support, choking up as he rhymed them off. "Just hearing them in the stands means a lot. Having any kind of support here means a lot."
  
Then, when asked about how all the years of preparation disappear so quickly, some of which was spent at a club in Ajax, he couldn't stay composed any longer.
  
"Four years, that's on the mat. It was pretty much four years gone right there.
  
"The thing is, I don't know if I can get another chance to go to the Olympics, so we'll see."
  
The day was a busy one for Mehmedovic, who was on the mat four times all told. He won his opening match 11-1 over Roberto Ibanez of Ecuador, but then lost 1-0 to Benjamin Darbelet of France, the winning margin scored in the final 30 seconds of the five-minute match.
  
"I had beat him previously at the World Championships, so going into the match I was confident. I knew that I could beat him," he said in explaining the setback. "I did a mistake. He countered me for a koka, which is the smallest point on the board... and I couldn't really catch up."
  
Because Darbelet went on to win his semifinal match, it put Mehmedovic back in the hunt for a medal through the repechage. He took advantage, making short work of Rachid Rguig of Morocco, moving on to the bronze medal match qualifier. But the bid to compete for a medal ended there.
  
The top-five finish was of little consolation afterwards.
  
"It hurts very much," he said of the disappointment. "Coming into the Games, my goal was top-five. I was very confident coming to these Games. I was ready. I was in the best shape of my life.
  
"I did lose. I was disappointed but, in a way, I was happy because they were very close. I lost by such a small amount of points in both the matches to good players. I can't be mad at that but, overall, I am a little disappointed with my finish, but it was still a good day."

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