Rio 2016: Canada’s Kelita Zupancic drops quarter-final match in women’s judo

RIO DE JANEIRO – Canada’s Kelita Zupancic dropped her quarter-final match Wednesday at the Olympic women’s 70-kilogram judo event.

Zupancic, 26, of Whitby, Ont., lost to Japan’s Haruka Tachimoto.

Tachimoto earned the victory by taking Zupancic to the mat not long after the Canadian appeared to be poked in the eye.

Zupancic competed for another chance at a bronze in the repechage, but wasn’t able to hold her opponent down long enough to score the win. She needed a 15-second hold and her opponent escaped after 14 seconds.

Zupancic is a three-time Pan Am judo gold medallist, winning in 2010, 2013 and last year at the Toronto Games.