Logan Campbell and Robin Cheong both suffered first-round defeats in their Olympic taekwondo bouts at ExCel Arena today.
Campbell, 26, went down 10-6 in the under-68 division to Hryhorii Husarov, a fast-improving Ukrainian teenager.
The New Zealander was holding Husarov quite well until the third and final round when he sustained two kicks to the head, which cost him the fight.
Cheong, who finished seventh in the womens under-49kg class as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, faced a difficult task, taking on third-seeded Egyptian Hedaya Wahba of Egypt.
Though she was clearly in against a classy fighter, the 23-year-old Aucklander held on well and deep into their under-57kg division fight was nearly level on points.
However Wahba put together three three-point kicks in quick succession and eventually won 17-6.
New Zealand has one other entrant in the taekwondo, Vaughn Scott, who competes tomorrow in the under-80kg division.
