TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese Taekwondo athlete Lo Chia-ling (羅嘉翎) lost her opening Olympic match Thursday (Aug. 8), falling 0-2 to Lebanon’s Laetitia Aoun.

The bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics had been battling a foot injury for nearly a year and took painkillers before the match. Lo wept after the loss and later limped out of the arena, saying “I'm sorry” while she passed the mixed zone, per CNA.

Lo could have a chance to compete in a repechage, but only if Aoun reaches the gold medal round. Lo’s coach Liu Tsung-ta (劉聰達) reminded Lo before the match that she could not afford to lose to Aoun, as her chances of a comeback would be slim.

Lo, suffering from a stress fracture in her left foot, has not competed in a real match for about nine months. Her foot had swollen up after one simulation match this July. 

Lo's training had been painful, with her foot swelling after more than an hour of practice. Lo realized after her first kick of the match that she would not be able to perform well.  

Liu said that this was the first time he felt so uncertain about how an athlete would perform.