Did you check to see if the ring fit into the cylinder before you put it in the piston? In car engine rebuilds its part of the process to double-check the ring gap, and it should be for a model engine rebuild, too. If the ring is too big to fit at all then nothing you do with it on the piston is going to bring you joy.
Assuming that you know the ring will fit at all, you could put a hose clamp around the piston, gently, to compress the ring. Then push the piston down into the liner. Just start with a hose clamp that's roughly the diameter of your piston, and you should be fine.