Fencer Tufaha Uwihoreye became the first Rwandan athlete eliminated from the Olympic Games after losing the first round of women’s ‘Epée' sword fight 15-7 to Japanese Miho Yoshimura on Saturday, July 27.

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Rwanda was making debut Olympic appearance in fencing but things didn’t go as Uwihoreye planned.

The 28-year-old, one seven Rwandan athletes who are in Paris on a wild card, bowed out in the first round after being outperformed by Yoshimura who hails from a country that has history with fencing.

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The match started at with intensity when Uwihoreye tried to keep playing well but the Japanese seemed too tough to beat as she led the game from the start to finish.

Yoshimura immediately started working head, beating Uwihoreye 3-2 before the end of the first period and, by the end of the second period, she had already doubled her points lead with 12-6.

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In the third period, Yoshimura scored three more points while Uwihoreye managed only one point. The game ended with a 15-7 win in the Japanese’s favour.

Miho Yoshimura will now face Sun Yiwen of China in the next round.

Fencing is a long-standing Olympic sport, as evidenced by its presence on the Olympic programme since the inaugural modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. Women's fencing entered the Games in 1924 in Paris. Today, men and women compete in individual and team events.