Aged 20, he earned a dramatic win over 19-year-old Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi of Tunisia - winning 16-12 at the Makuhari Messe to win Italy's first gold of the Games.

Dell'Aquila, who was making his Games debut, launched his attack on Jendoubi from the start of the closely fought contest.

The two young fighters were tied at 10-10 with 15 seconds left on the clock, before Dell'Aquila won with a series of strikes.

Jendoubi had caused an upset earlier on when he beat world champion and favourite for gold, Jang Jun of South Korea, 25-19 in the semi-final.

Dell'Aquila was born in Mesagne, in the province of Brindisi, on November 3, 2000, and took up taekwondo at the age of eight, joining the gym of his first teacher, Roberto Baglivo.

The Italian's arrival at the highest level could not be termed a surprise given his competitive career up to that point.

He took gold in the under-49kg category at the 2014 World Cadet Championships, and added European junior golds in 2015 and 2017. In the latter year he added senior world bronze.

In 2018, Dell’Aquila took bronze at the senior European Championships, and the following year his ambitions grew even stronger as he earned victory at the Grand Prix Final in Moscow.

He beat the event's world number one Jun in Russia, the 2019 world champion who ended up with a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 following his surprise exit at the hands of Jendoubi.

It was a superb tour de force for the young Italian, who will surely be there or thereabouts when the Olympic podium is populated again at the Paris 2024 Games.