BANGKOK, Thailand — Thailand's Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist Yaowapa Boorapolchai has retired prematurely due to a persistent foot injury and will miss the Beijing games.

The 23-year-old Yaowapa, known popularly by her nickname View, won bronze in the 49-kilogram class at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Local newspapers reported she will undergo surgery to repair an injury to a toe on her left foot.

"I did not want to miss the cut for the Beijing Olympics, which would have been my last, and I trained very hard for the national selection trials on May 16," Yaowapa was quoted to say in the Daily Express.

"Unfortunately things became worse, with the wound opening up and exposing the bone. It was agonizingly painful."