The ghost of Atlanta returned to haunt world champion Noriko Anno at the Sydney Olympics on Thursday as she made a surprise exit from the women's under-78 kg competition.

Anno lost her first bout to Italy's former world champion Emanuela Pierantozzi -- a repeat of her first-round loss to Edinaci Silva of Brazil at the 1996 Olympics.

"I did not get nervous before the bout," a weeping Anno said Thursday. "But when I stepped onto the mat I felt the fear of Atlanta."

Silva threw Anno for an "ippon," in the first 30 seconds of that matchup -- the first time Anno had ever been beaten by the perfect score.

Thursday's match went the full four minutes, but the Tokyo Metropolitan Police officer was penalized for defensive tactics about one minute into the bout and could not score against the Italian.

Anno, 24, went into the fight conceding 8 cm in height and a worrying 6 kg to her opponent, having weighed in at a mere 71.8 kg Thursday morning.

"I have never been this light before," she said "I felt the power of Pierantozzi. She was very strong."

Pierantozzi, who won world championships in Belgrade in 1989 and Barcelona in 1991, then went down to Heidi Rakels of Belgium in the next bout -- eliminating Anno from the repechage battle for a bronze.

Anno, still distraught and weeping an hour later, had been a favorite to win the tournament but could not even guarantee she would continue her judo career.

"After this match, I have no idea about my future. Just now, all I want to do is rest," she said. Anno is the fourth of seven reigning Japanese world champions to go down at the 2000 Olympic competition, and the second to crash in the first round.

Noriko Narazaki managed a silver in the under-52-kg class Sunday, crumpling in the gold-medal bout to nemesis Legna Verdecia of Cuba.

Keiko Maeda tumbled out of the under-63-kg class in her first bout Tuesday.

Hidehiko Yoshida was mangled out of the under-90-kg class in a quarterfinal loss Wednesday with a dislocated right elbow.