Taekwondo players Vladislav Arventi and Iulia Latus did not manage to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games. In the European qualifying tournament that closed in Russia on January 29, both of the athletes suffered defeats in the inaugural battles, Info-Prim Neo reports. Arventi (68kg class) lost to Austria’s Manuel Mark 2-5, while Iulia Latus (67kg class) was beaten by Franka Anici from Slovenia 1-8. Earlier, in the competition held in Kazan town, Moldova’s Andrei Rotaru was close to qualifying for the Olympics, but lost the decisive battle for the bronze medal. Only those who won medals in every weight class qualified for this summer’s Olympics. Moldova has never had representatives at the Olympic taekwondo event. The Ministry of Youth and Sport spent 72,000 lei on the national taekwondo’s squad participation in this tournament.