Veteran Olympian Jones, the 2012 and 2016 gold medallist, lost her opening round 7-6 before fighting back to win the second. With the third round locked at 1-1 after time had run out, Reljikj won on a countback of overall number of hits.
Missed-test mystery
These Games come after UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) had only published the outcome of Jones’ missed test case on the agency’s website without sending out an accompanying media release.
The violation — a refusal to take a drugs test — took place in December and there are understood to be mitigating factors although Jones has never explained what they are.
She escaped a four-year ban because a national anti-doping panel accepted that she had suffered a “loss of cognitive capacity”, with the panel concluding she bore “no fault or negligence”. The investigation found the test was due to take place while Jones was attempting to shed weight — and she claimed she had not eaten or had a drink for two days prior to the knock on her door. She also said she was about to leave for a dehydration bath, rendering her even more incapable of providing the doping control officer (DCO) with a urine sample.
It remains to be seen whether she will finally address the issue later on Thursday on what is certain to be her last day in the full limelight at an Olympics.