Nine years after beating Anne-Caroline Graffe of France 5-4 to win over-67 kilograms gold at the London 2012 Games, the 29-year-old from Belgrade reached the Olympic peak again with a 10-7 victory over South Korea's Lee Da-bin at the Makuhari Messe Hall A at Tokyo 2020.

Lee had reached the final thanks to a thrilling 25-24 victory over Britain's triple world champion and top seed Bianca Walkden, who had put an end to Mandić's title defence at the 2016 Rio Olympics, beating her 5-0 in the quarter-finals.

Mandić's passage to the final was secured through a 7-5 win over France's Laurin Althea, who had previously beaten China's defending champion Zheng Shuyin 14-6.

Mandić established an early 5-0 lead over Lee in the final with a strike to the head and trunk, and continued to control proceedings.

Lee drew level at 6-6 with 40 seconds left, but a punch and a kick to the body proved to be decisive for Mandić, who burst into tears on the podium after collecting her country's first gold medal of Tokyo 2020.

During an emotional homecoming, Mandić confirmed that, despite the coaching staff urging her to go on to the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Tokyo 2020 Games would be her last.

"Everything is so familiar and yet so strange to me," Mandić told b92.net.

"That's how I felt at the Olympics. We knew how ready we were. The pressure was always there, but we learned to deal with it. It's unrealistic for me to say I'm a two-time gold medallist.

"Now I feel at the peak of my career. 

"I thought I wouldn't be able to repeat this success many times. 

"It's time to take a break. 

"I'm not ready for the new Olympic cycle - then I'll be around 34. 

"It's time for a break. 

"I wouldn't think much about it right now. 

"I would like to fully enjoy this moment." 

A year on, and Mandić - now with the surname Djuricic after getting married in 2021 - is free to reflect upon the achievements of 20 years in the sport now she has left it. 

Although only in terms of being an athlete, as she is now pursuing a career as a TV commentator, a role in which she made her debut at the Paris 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix.

"I gave a lot of interviews as an athlete but to now be on the other side of the camera as their friend is different," she said. 

"But I like it really, I just love being around the athletes. 

"For me, this is a healthy community. We are all one family and this is best for me."

In fact, during the Paris Grand Prix, Mandić had a moment to catch up with her competitor for gold at London 2012, Graffe of France. 

Coincidentally, Graffe also became a taekwondo commentator for French TV after retiring from the sport.

When talking about her future goals, Mandić told World Taekwondo she was in Paris to learn.

"I want to start by learning from the best," she said. 

"I think I would love to continue working in this field with all the athletes to collect knowledge and experience from the other end. I always enjoyed watching everyone in training and competition, I can really empathise with their struggle and how they are feeling."

Looking back on a career that ended at a dizzying high point, she added: "Tokyo 2020 was my last competition with my coach and my team-mates. It was really emotional for me. But for the first time in my life, I found my true power inside just to go step by step to believe in everything I had done for the last 20 years.

"I never thought I would end my career like this. It was amazing really, in Tokyo and after Tokyo."

Mandić's taekwondo achievements have led to the sport skyrocketing in popularity in Serbia over the past 10 years.

"Before London 2012, nobody knew about taekwondo," she said. "Nobody knew the rules. But after my first gold they knew everything about it!

"And this was a goal for me and my coach, to show everyone in Serbia that taekwondo is a nice sport that builds good character, a good fitness level and is for everyone from the professional to recreational levels."

She described herself as a soldier during London 2012 and noted how her coaches' unwavering belief in her ability to win was a key driving force. Tokyo was different.

"At Tokyo I was almost 30, and you have other aspects of your life: my private life, my family and it's a lot different," she said. "But when I went to final in Tokyo, I said to myself, 'okay, I've been here before and it is the same'. I really felt that was my strength and I felt a lot more relaxed the second time.

"Honestly, when you're at the top of professional sports it's like some kind of addiction to the highs of winning and the adrenaline. Going from Tokyo to a straight line zero was especially hard. Yes, you can focus more on your private life and family which is amazing, but you still miss that feeling.

"It's not easy for an athlete really and for me, I never cared about money for motivation. For me, passion and love for everything I do is the most important thing."

Mandić and her trainer Dragan Jović were included in the Taekwondo Hall of Fame in the wake of the London 2012 Games, at a ceremony in Las Vegas.

That was a first peak for the Belgrade-born athlete who, eight years earlier, had made her competitive international debut in the cadet category at the European Championships in Palermo.

Her promise was confirmed in 2008 as she earned World Championship youth bronze in the under-68kg class.

Once in the senior ranks, she made a breakthrough in 2011, winning four Open events and taking bronze in the under-73kg class at the World Championships in Gyeongju.

Her London 2012 victory was preceded by European silver in the under-73kg division and another European silver followed in 2014.

A year later she won silver at the inaugural 2015 European Games and in 2016 she took another European silver.

A year after her unsuccessful Olympic defence in Rio, she returned to the top of the global sport as she beat Oh Hye-ri of South Korea 17-13 in the under-73kg final at the Muju World Championships.

At the end of 2019 she gave notice of her continuing threat to be the best in her division as she won silver in the over-67kg class at the Grand Prix final in Moscow, losing 7-4 to China's Olympic champion Zheng.

She had two competitive forays in 2020 - both fruitful - as she took silver at the WT President's Cup-Europe at Helsingborg, and then won the US Open in Kissimmee.

Having navigated the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, this Serbian phenomenon emerged ready to reach the heights of her sport once again and was duly rewarded.