TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's only Taekwondo competitor in the Olympics, Lo Chia-ling (羅嘉翎), will compete on Thursday (Aug. 8). In her first match in the Women-57kg category, she will face Laetitia Aoun, a 2018 Asian Games bronze medalist from Lebanon.
Lo's journey may become more challenging if she advances to the quarterfinals, where she could meet Jade Jones, a two-time Olympic gold medalist from the U.K. If Lo progresses through three rounds to the gold medal match, she might face top seed Luo Zongshi (駱宗詩) from China.
Lo's left foot injury, a stress fracture that has kept her out of international competitions for eight months, remains a significant concern. She withdrew from a simulated match at the National Sports Training Center in July due to the injury and has not sustained any new injuries since.
Coach Liu Tsung-ta (劉聰達) explained their strategy to manage Lo's injury is to reduce aggressive attacks, focus on movement, and create opportunities for counterattacks by making the opponent miss.
This year marks Lo's second appearance in the Olympics; she previously earned a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and silver medals at the 2022 and 2023 World Taekwondo Championships. She also secured silver medals at the Summer World University Games and Asian Games last year.