Britain’s Lutalo Muhammad progressed into the quarter-finals of the men’s -80kg in Rio with an easy win over Australian Hayder Shkara. Cook appeared out of sorts on the mat and was unable to string together any sustained attack against Liu, who used his height advantage by nailing Cook with several well-timed head kicks. “I wanted to put on a show for those who have supported me and win that gold medal, but I just feel I’ve let everyone down”.
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The second seed was fighting in the Olympics for the first time since Beijing after being controversially overlooked by British selectors for London 2012.
The two had never fought before, but Cook said he had studied Liu’s fights and trained with opponents similar to him.
“It didn’t go right on the biggest stage and it’s heartbreaking”.
Cook trained for years with the British taekwondo academy until a coaching dispute.
London 2012 bronze medallist Muhammad stormed into a decisive lead in a mightily impressive second round and hung on for victory.
Lutalo Muhammad booked his place in his first-ever Olympics final after beating Milad Beigi Harchegani 12-7 in their taekwondo last-four bout on Friday.
The 25-year-old will face former champion Steven Lopez of the U.S. in the next round at 19:15 BST on Friday.
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The British Olympic Association reluctantly allowed Cook’s allegiance switch – even though he has no connection with Moldova – after talks to heal the rift with the athlete were unsuccessful.
