South Korean fencer A Lam Shin saw her appeal against a decision turned down after a dramatic turn of events that saw her sit in tears on the fencing piste for almost an hour.
After losing 6-5 to Germany’s Britta Heidemann, A sat weeping on the piste on live television as officials judged the appeal, which was delayed by rules requiring her Korean coaches to pay a sum of money for the appeal to be heard, an arena announcer said.
The nature of the appeal was not specified, but it appeared to relate to timekeeping after Heidemann won the fight in the dying seconds.
The original ruling was upheld, and A was escorted from the arena by officials to a standing ovation from spectators.
A was the underdog in the individual epee fight against reigning Olympic champion Heidemann, who also won a team silver medal in Athens in 2004.
Ukraine's Yana Shemyakina awaits Heidemann in the gold medal match, while A will face China's Yujie Sun for the bronze.
