Olympic Athlete Martin Stamper dreams of medal success at the World Championship in Mexico were dashed after a surprising opening-round defeat from Egyptian Ghofran Zak.
The defeat has left the Liverpool-born fighter taking a look at his future in the sport.
“I wanted a gold medal today and I worked hard all year but something isn’t quite right,” Martin told BBC Sport, “It wasn’t good enough – nowhere near and now I don’t know. I need a long time off with my family and see where I go from there.”
Just before the World Championships, Martin revealed that he’d considered quitting the sport after the London 2012 Olympics. However, his recent success so far in 2013 bringing him Gold medals in both the German and Spanish Opens has kept him on track.
“I always put my family second behind taekwondo because I want to do the best whilst I’m doing it,” Martin reveals to the BBC. “Even though I’ll more than likely go back to training I’m definitely going to spend more time with my family and put them first because you don’t get that time back.”
