One of the first Colombian athletes to compete was Erika Lasso in judo, who faced the representative of China Taipei, Chen-Hao Lin.
The fight took place in the early hours of the morning in Colombia, the Colombian had an even fight, however, the Asian achieved with an Ippon 10-0, after having immobilized Lasso for 20 seconds.
This fight, held on the tatami of track 1 at the Champ de Mars Arena, marked the first elimination in competition of a Colombian athlete.
“Thank you all very much for your support. Although I managed to qualify in a short time, I always had high expectations. I had been doing a good job with my coaches,” said Erika at the end of her participation, in statements collected by the Colombian Olympic Committee (COC).
He then stressed that: “I had faith in them, in my work, and well, in the end, in just one fight my dream ended. I did not achieve my expectations, but I believe that God has a purpose for me.”
It is worth noting that this fight was decided in the final moments after a quick movement where the Taiwanese Lin had the opportunity to grab the Colombian and immobilize her.