Fencer Ho Kai-lai made an early exit from the women's epee event in the cruellest way possible when she lost by just a single point to China's Liang Qin. Ho, seen by many as a possible medal contender in the tournament, went down 15-14 to Liang after twice leading her opponent towards the end of a see-saw bout at the Thammasat University sports complex. Defeat came when she surged forward aggressively with the scores delicately poised at 14-13 in Liang's favour. Seeking a hit to level the match, Ho found her mark but in the process left herself exposed to the mainlander, who got the match-winning touch at the same time to win 15-14. 'She shouldn't have gone for that point,'' was the verdict of Ho's coach Guo Yineng afterwards. 'Liang only needed one point to win so Ho should have been more defensive and waited for an opportunity. 'But overall I have to be happy with the way she performed today,' Guo said. 'I think people regard Hong Kong fencers as not being very strong but we have been competitive here and this is a strong tournament, especially with all the former Soviet countries now competing. Liang is a very experienced and physically strong girl, but Ho matched her for a lot of the game and nearly won,' Guo added. A dejected Ho said she didn't think she was capable of winning a bronze medal, but was disappointed to have gone out to an opponent she has never beaten. 'I don't think I could win a medal in this event but I think it is a pity that I lost today. I was leading 13-12 but couldn't finish it off,' the 30-year-old said. 'I've played her many times before but never won. It was a shame I couldn't do it today. 'I was also a little bit nervous. When I played her in the World Championship last year she won 5-2 and I was thinking about that before the start.' Hong Kong's other women fencers, Chan Siu-san and Cheung Yi-ni, also failed to progress beyond the second round of the knockout competition. Cheng went out to China's Yang Shaoqi, losing 15-5, while Chan lost in the first round to Yuko Arai of Japan, 15-8. All three women advanced to the last 32 after scraping through the preliminary rounds in the morning. Ho had the best record of the Hong Kong trio, winning three and losing three in Pool Two.