But the 25-year-old from Nannestad remains a potent threat in the under-80 kilograms category as the world's best taekwondo exponents re-calibrate their sights to the postponed Tokyo Games.

After announcing himself to the taekwondo world with a bronze medal at the 2014 European Junior Championships, Ordemann indicated that he was already capable of making his mark in the senior ranks as he earned bronze later that season in the French Open.

Since then he has amassed 20 medals in senior Open events, including eight golds.

In 2017 he won bronze at the Summer Universiade in Taipei, losing 12-10 to Raul Martinez Garcia of Spain. Earlier that year Ordemann had reached the quarter-finals at the World Championships in Muju, South Korea, losing 8-6 to Russia's eventual silver medallist Anton Kotkov.

The following year was a memorable one for the young Norwegian, as he began with a silver medal at the Turkish Open followed by golds at the Dutch and German Opens.

At the European Championships in Kazan he shared bronze, having lost 17-14 in his semi-final against Aaron Cook, the Briton who represents Moldova.

Then he produced one of the best results of his career to beat the odds-on favourite, Maksim Khramtcov of Russia, 27-14, and claim men's under-80kg gold at the Fujairah Grand Prix Final in the United Arab Emirates.

A superb round kick to the face from Ordemann in the third round drew gasps from the crowd and looked like it stunned the Russian. 

"Most of my head shots have a bit of power behind them," the Norwegian told World Taekwondo after the fight. "It puts them in a mental state that I quite like.

"It went according to plan – but my plans were quite simplistic; I don't go into detail. That limits myself."

He added: "I have been sneaking under the radar a bit. I have not had massive medals and I have not been really big on posting online, trying to get a big following."

At that point he was already looking ahead to the Tokyo 2020 Games, and putting emphasis on the importance of physical conditioning.

"Tokyo is very much on the horizon, and this medal puts me in a good spot for qualifying," he said.

"Injuries you can't really do much about: if it happens it happens.

"So I do a lot of 'prehab' - exercises to prevent injuries.

"This is the start of something good: I think you will be seeing a lot more of me on the podiums in the future.

"I am here to stay."

His season last year was relatively less successful – he took silver at the Turkish and Egyptian Opens, and gold at the Polish Open in Warsaw. 

But he was tantalisingly close to the podium in the season-ending events of the Extra European Championships in Bari, where he lost 5-3 to Kotkov in the quarter-final, and the Grand Prix Final in Moscow, where he also reached the last eight.

As Ordemann looks ahead to the re-staged Tokyo Games, he knows he has real medal chances…