Aucklander Vaughn Scott lost his first-round bout 9-5 in the under-80kg division of the Olympic taekwondo competition today.
Scott, ranked 18th in the world, came up against a tough opponent in Argentinian Sebastian Crismanich, the seventh seed.
Crismanich won the first round 6-2, mainly owing to one defensive kick that earned him four points.
However, the New Zealander, fighting aggressively, came back well in the second round, which he won 3-2. At one point he closed the margin to 6-5.
Scott needed a big third round, but was unable to make any impact on the Argentinian, and lost it 1-0.