She is sitting in a parking lot, away from the noise, alone. She has her eyes lost. She is isolated, thinking, reviving, digesting her defeat.

Her name is Ugne Pileckaite, she comes from Lithuania and has lost her fight, in the first round, against Brazil Maria Diniz.

We approach slowly, we know we are going to bother her, but she welcomes us kindly. She even smiles. “I am remembering the match. I have made a beginner's mistake”, she explains. Both were in the golden score. Judo tolerates few errors, the golden score none because it means defeat. The Brazilian won with a waza-ari when she was clearly being dominated.

“I have lost naively, but I will learn from this,” she says more relaxed.

In the loneliness of a car park Pileckaite is not happy and fully begins to accept that she is out of the tournament. Then she gets up, walks and, when she turns around, we find in her eyes the determination to improve and get ahead, to learn from the mistakes made.

Lessons for young people, judo lessons.

See also