In the women's featherweight final on Saturday evening, despite a hard-fought battle, Szeremeta was beaten by Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting, one of two boxers at the heart of a major gender dispute at the Paris Games.
The Taiwanese enjoyed a height advantage of 10 centimetres over the Pole, using her superior reach and thrusting jab from the opening bell.
Though unable to seriously trouble Yu-Ting, the 20-year-old Pole refused to go quietly.
The second and third rounds were more of a brawl before Yu-ting broke Szeremeta’s nose towards the end of the game, sealing the deal with a unanimous points decision win.
“I definitely dreamt of bringing gold back to Poland”, Szeremeta was quoted as saying by Poland’s PAP news agency.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, so the tears are here," added the tearful Pole.
"I wanted more. I promise that in four years, I will return to the Olympics and bring home the gold”, she vowed.
Szeremeta has won a raft of new admirers over the course of the Games for her unorthodox style, and this was again in evidence in the final as she danced around the ring keeping her guard low.
By bagging silver Szeremeta became the first Polish female boxer to ever win an Olympic medal.
The feat also marks the first Olympic boxing final for Poland since 1980, when Paweł Skrzecz won silver in the men's light heavyweight category at the Moscow Games.
(mo)
Source: PAP, AFP
