BEIJING, Aug 10: French fencer Fabrice Jeannet says he is usually a relaxed guy and does not care much about who wins but his defeat in Sunday's Olympic final, the last match of his career, left him crying and calling himself a failure.

“I came here to win a gold medal in the only Olympic final of my life. I see this as a failure,” Jeannet said as French team-mates and reporters tried to console him after a sound defeat in the individual epee at the hands of Italy's Matteo Tagliariol.

Defeat was made even more bitter as Tagliariol's mother told reporters after the final that her son idolised Jeannet when he was younger.

“I really wanted it ... but couldn't get my game going,” said Jeannet, who collected a team epee gold four years ago in Athens along with his brother Jerome.

The Frenchman from Martinique announced his retirement earlier and staked everything on one last match.

“This is the end of my career, this was my last fight and I lost,” Jeannet said.—Reuters