(Paris 2024) Hong Kong’s Lo Wai-fung loses -68kg taekwondo last 16 bout to Ulugbek Rashitov

Hong Kong’s taekwondo athlete Lo Wai-fung loses to Tokyo gold medalist Uzbekistan’s Ulugbek Rashitov on Thursday, but is not out of the tournament.

He started off his Olympic debut with a win in the men’s under 68kg qualification contest at the Paris Games on Thursday, making his way to the round of 16 after defeating Yahya Al Ghotany of the Refugee Olympic Team.

Three head kicks worth nine points gave Lo an early lead in the first minute, followed by a two-point body kick and another three-point head kick to end the first round early with 20 seconds to spare. A round ends automatically if one contestant is ahead by 12 points.

Al Ghotany attempted to turn the tides in the second round, opening the bout with a punch to Lo’s body. However, Lo kept his momentum and fought back, landing strong kicks to Al Ghotany’s head and ending the second round by 16-4.

He won his opening round in straight sets and faced Uzbekistan’s Ulugbek Rashitov next for a place in the quarterfinals. Rashitov is the top-seeded athlete in the event and is the gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics.

This is the second time Lo faced Rashitov after the Hangzhou Asian Games.

In the first round, the Tokyo gold medalist started off in a dominating fashion, landing consecutive kicks and swiftly achieving an eight-point lead within just 17 seconds.

With 47 seconds to spare, Rashitov won the round, as he had already reached the threshold of a 12-point lead where the round ends automatically.

For the second round, Rashitov got a seven-point lead and started to slow down the pace.

In the final six seconds, Lo and Rashitov kicked at the same time and landed body blows on each other, earning two points each, with the round ending 2-9 in Rashitov's favor.

The Uzbek taekwondo athlete won two rounds and advanced to the quarterfinals.

However, Lo is not out of medal contention yet, as he gains the chance of a repêchage, to fight for a bronze medal, if Rashitov makes it to the finals.

(Updated 6.32 pm)