Great Britain taekwondo athlete Mahama Cho has insisted that he is determined to prove himself at the European Games in Baku following a disappointing performance in last month's World Championships.
Cho was beaten in the round-of-32 by eventual silver medalist Firmin Zokou in Russia, but has an immediate chance to bounce back when he competes in the men's -80kg competition in Azerbaijan.
The 25-year-old does not compete until the final day of taekwondo action on Friday, but he is desperate to get going as he looks to pick up valuable Olympic ranking points, with a maximum of 40 on offer in Baku.
Sports Mole caught up with the Ivory Coast-born athlete before his contest, and he stressed that he is on the hunt for a medal at the inaugural Games.
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First things first - how are you feeling going into this competition?
"I'm feeling fantastic. Really good. Excitement is starting to kick in. It's getting nearby now - I won't be fighting until Friday but I'm really looking forward to it."
You had a tough draw in the World Championships and went out in the early rounds, so is this a chance to prove yourself?
"Absolutely. You've got these type of tournaments where you want to pick up points to qualify for Rio, so this is one of the biggest tournaments after the World Championships where we are basically trying to stay in good shape and perform the best that we can."
Have you changed anything with your training in the build-up to these Games?
"Obviously every tournament is going to be different and the opponent is going to be different too, so you're going to try to minimise the errors you made last time, and try your best to perform to the best of your ability. Just a little twinge here and there but that's about it."
How optimistic are you that you can come away from Baku with a medal to show for your efforts?
"I'm optimistic. I'm confident of my abilities - I always know I can do well at this type of tournament. So definitely I'm going to be there and try to get in those medal stages."
You mentioned Rio earlier - is this another important box to tick on the way to next year's Olympics?
"Absolutely. That's the dream and that's the objective for me. So I really want to be able to represent my country out there. So if I'm able to perform at these type of tournaments, anything can happen."
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The taekwondo team is one of the strongest strands of Team GB at these Games - does that put more pressure on you to succeed?
"We kind of are modest athletes, as we say. We kind of go through our stride and never put pressure on ourselves. We love what we do. We are all blessed to be here, so whatever opportunity they give to us we always take and that's how we've been taught in our sport.
"So it's always a blessing to actually be here and represent GB at this stage. We are really looking forward to representing our country really well at this tournament."
And what is the feeling amongst the team at the moment?
"We are buzzing at the moment. In training, the atmosphere's great - just the togetherness is really great. Just being here as a team. Even the GB team, being in the same place together and experiencing a major games. It's a great place to be at."
Everyone we've spoken to so far has lavished praise on the Athletes' Village. What are your thoughts on it?
"It's amazing. I'm actually astonished. The standards and quality, it's a bit like London to be honest. It's really nice everyone being here together - just European countries, and the first one as well, so the atmosphere's great. It's great to be here really."
How about Baku as a city? Have you had much time to explore it?
"Well, we were out here for the European Championships last year, but at that stage I think they were still building. So just to come back here and see it finished, it's a really spectacular place to be."
Barney Corkhill
