Malmgren came to Paris with high hopes of being able to wrestle for medals on Thursday.
They were crushed early.
After the 2–10 loss to Pang Qianyu – Malmgren was completely helpless – a win in the semifinal for the Chinese woman was a must to save the Swede in the 53-kilo class.
A win for Pang, who took silver in the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021, and the 23-year-old Swede would have had to go through a repechage on Thursday morning for a place in one of the two bronze matches in the evening.
But the same Pang who convincingly beat Malmgren with 10–2 was without a chance against Fujinami, who won with 10–0.
Fought with tears
Malmgren fought with tears shortly after the loss to Pang in the quarterfinal.
It was a tough match, I came in wrong in the first period. I'm riding on a unnecessary four, I feel. It's the first period that makes it tough for me in the second, says Jonna Malmgren.
What makes you the saddest?
That I had high goals and had loaded up for this championship. I knew it would be tough against China, but if I had wrestled like in the second period, I would have made a better match.
"Explosive"
Pang put in her shot with just seconds left until she would have been penalized for passive wrestling.
She was explosive there, says Malmgren.
It was a very fine throw, says national team captain Sofia Mattsson.
When Pang increased to 8–0, the match was basically over. Only a fall could have saved Malmgren. Such a thing was never close.
I just had to chase, but didn't get anything. She just backed away. She's incredibly skilled, it's not that, but a huge disappointment. I got the toughest possible draw, but if you're going to win Olympic gold, you have to beat everyone, so it doesn't matter.
In the round of 16, Malmgren beat Betzabeth Angeli Arguello Villegas from Venezuela on a fall and with a score of 5–3.
