LIVE: Double Aussie pain as Opals cop 'disaster' upset; boxing star's ...

29 Jul 2024

Fox Sports

Australia has taken a double blow on Monday night with two of its medal fancies, the Opals and boxer Harry Garside, both copping defeats.

Opals basketball - Figure 1 — Photo Fox Sports

For Garside, it means his hopes of repeating or even improving on his Tokyo bronze medal are dashed, while the loss to Nigeria leaves the Opals in a fight to get out of the group stage.

The upsets were part of a disappointing start to day three for Australian athletes, with two swimming world championship medallists failing to qualify for their finals.

However, there are a few shining lights with the women’s rugby sevens team topping its pool while an Australian is in the medal hunt in equestrian.

Legend breaks down after end of an era | 00:52

OPALS UNRAVEL AFTER SLUGGISH START TO OLYMPICS

Australia’s Opals loomed as a strong medal chance entering this year’s Olympics but they have been dealt a big blow after dropping their opening game against Nigeria 75-62.

The Opals rallied late after trailing 41-28 at halftime but could not overcome a sluggish start to the game with Lauren Jackson describing it flatly as a “disaster”.

“It was not good. It was a disaster out there,” she said.

“Free throws will win or loss you the game, we make our free throws it’s a different ball game.”

They now face an uphill battle to get out of the group stage, with games against Canada and France to come.

The Opals made a strong start to Monday night’s game, opening up an early 8-2 lead against a sloppy Nigeria side that made three turnovers in the first two minutes.

Forward Ezi Magbegor was heavily involved on both ends with a layup and assist while Jade Melbourne had seven of Australia’s first 13 points in the game to make an immediate impact in her Olympic debut.

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It was a frantic opening quarter. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)Source: AFP

The Opals led 13-5 but Nigeria quickly was able to tie it up as Amy Okonkwo first made a triple before a pair of Australia turnovers gifted the opposition five more quick points.

Jackson, playing in her first Olympics since 2012, entered the game with Australia leading 13-8 and had a nice block to deny a driving Blessing Ejiofor late in the quarter.

Overall though neither team was able to get into any real offensive rhythm, committing a combined 14 turnovers in a frantic first quarter.

Neither team was able to get into much of a shooting rhythm when the second quarter opened either, with Australia opening the scoring in bizarre fashion as Tess Madgen swiped at the ball while competing for an offensive rebound and instead swatted it up and in.

There were glimpses of the Australia’s best as Steph Talbot brilliantly fed it to a driving Magbegor, who took a hard foul and made one of two free throws before Sami Whitcomb scored her first points as the Opals debutant weaved her way to the rim.

That had Australia ahead 22-18 but Nigeria quickly tied it back up and then went ahead as Murjanatu Musa capitalised on a cheap Opals turnover to force Sandy Brondello into calling a timeout.

Nigeria is putting up the fight. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / POOL / AFP)Source: AFP

Nothing was coming easy for the Opals, although perhaps the injection of fresh blood was Australia’s best bet as Whitcomb added a 3-pointer in her Olympic debut.

But just as the Opals regained the lead, Nigeria snatched it right back as Ezinne Kalu rose up for a huge four-point play to improve her perfect shooting start to 4-for-4 from deep.

Australia needed something and found it from Jackson as the Opals legend drained a much-needed 3-pointer later in the quarter.

But it was still Nigeria who led 41-28 heading into halftime, scoring four quick points in the final 12 seconds on the back of two-straight Australia turnovers.

It brought Australia’s total turnovers in the first half up to 16, with the play-by-play commentator declaring: “I have never seen an Opals team this sloppy in the first half”.

The Opals opened the third quarter with another turnover, although thankfully for them Nigeria wasn’t able to capitalise on that occasion as Melbourne instead scored the layup on the other end to start closing the gap for Australia.

The Opals are in quite the battle. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

But it meant little if the Opals didn’t clean up the turnovers, giving up the ball on the next possession and gifting Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah an easy layup to re-establish the 13-point difference.

The Opals were able to get it back to 45-40 as Nigeria started to get sloppy with its possessions while Australia’s shots began to fall, with Smith scoring back-to-back buckets at one point.

A deep Jackson triple then further reduced the deficit before Musa drained a late jump shot to give Nigeria a 51-47 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Opals were able to keep in touch early in the fourth quarter but in a key turning point, Magbegor turned it over on a pass intended for Jackson and then Elizabeth Balogun produced a 3-pointer on the other end to push Nigeria’s lead out to six.

But Australia refused to go away, with a Kristy Wallace free throw and Smith 3-pointer reducing the deficit to just two points entering the final few minutes of the game.

The Opals rallied late but it wasn’t enough. (Photo by POOL / AFP)Source: AFP

The Opals had already made five turnovers in the quarter but crucially, this time around Nigeria wasn’t making its shots.

That changed down the stretch though as Promise Amukamara continually got into the paint and drew fouls to keep the scoreboard ticking over, enough for Nigeria to get the job done.

Australia (No.3) is the highest-ranked team in its group with Nigeria (No.12) the lowest, the group also featuring Canada (No.5) and France (No.7).

Having barely escaped the group stage in Tokyo by a single point, the Opals ran into the USA in the quarter-finals, and were hoping to win their group this time to avoid the favourites for gold for as long as possible.

However, now getting out of the group stage looks a tall task.

GARSIDE CRASHES OUT, SHOWS CLASS AFTER DEFEAT

Elsewhere, Harry Garside’s quest for another Olympic medal has ended in heartbreak, with the Australian losing via unanimous decision to Hungarian Richard Kovacs in a light welterweight bout.

Garside, who won bronze at Tokyo and had quit his career as a pro to focus on shooting for gold, was expected to defeat Kovacs in their Round of 16 bout and go one step closer to his Olympic dream.

It was a fast-paced opening round, with Garside skipping around the ring with ease until Kovacs caught him with a solid right hand early in the first round.

Garside was the busier of the two, consistently throwing one-two combinations and won the round on three of the judges’ scorecards, although when Kovacs got through he was packing plenty of power on each of his shots.

Kovacs, who had been taunting Garside and trying to get inside the Australian’s head in the first round, carried that into the second and caught him coming forward at one point on the way to take the second round on all five of the judges’ scorecards.

A frantic final round saw both fighters swing wildly but Garside, who needed something big to turn the fight in his favour, couldn’t find it as he went down to the showboating Hungarian.

In a show of class after the bout, Garside held open the ropes to help Kovacs exit the ring despite his rival’s antics during the fight.

Speaking to Channel Nine after the fight, a frank Garside said he felt “pretty numb”.

“It’s crazy,” he said.

“Two decades dedicated to one dream and it’s all over just like that. I feel pretty numb right now but I’m sure the next month or two will be quite challenging back home.

“I fear for my mind… I feel like I let myself down and a few people down. But I’ve got to regroup.

“I’m so sorry. I feel like a failure right now. I don’t know what to say.”

Garside opened up in a raw interview with News Corp’s Peter Badel before the Olympics, speaking about his mother’s cancer battle and how he overcame suicidal thoughts.

AUSSIE WOMEN TOP RUGBY SEVENS POOL GROUP

Australia will finish the pool stage undefeated after securing a 19-14 win over Ireland to take top spot ahead of the quarter-finals.

Maddison Levi, who had seven tries in Australia’s first two games, was a standout again in the win.

Australia will now face the No.7 seed in their quarter-final, with that game scheduled for 5am AEST on Tuesday morning.

Australia made a fast start as Faith Nathan broke through the middle to score in 20 seconds, opening up an early 7-0 lead.

Ireland then piled on the pressure but Australia scrambled brilliantly to deny Ireland on multiple occasions, although the pressure eventually led to points as Eve Higgins crashed over to level the scores.

Australia held on to win. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP)Source: AFP

An inspired couple of runs from Bienne Terita at the death gave Australia one final chance to strike before halftime and it was an offload that put Teagan Levi over to make it 12-7 at the break.

Ireland had the first try-scoring opportunity of the second half but a big tackle from Levi on Erin King helped win possession back for Australia and soon after Levi was still backing up in support on the counter-attack to race away and extend the lead.

Pure speed from Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe looked to have dragged Ireland back into the contest, although replays later showed she dropped the ball in the tackle of Levi – who continued to make a big impact in both attack and defence.

Higgins scored her second late in the piece to give Ireland a chance, needing a try in the final 45 seconds to win but Australia held on.

OTHER EVENTS TO COME

In the equestrian, Australia’s Chris Burton is in contention for a medal in the individual eventing, having finished equal-third in the dressage phase, holding onto third in the cross country phase, and moving up to second after the jumping. He will compete in the final at 11pm.

Tristan Carter is hoping to repeat Jess Fox’s feats in the canoe slalom, with the Aussie qualifying 12th-fastest for tonight’s C1 semi-final.

The Aussie women’s rugby sevens team is also in action again with the quarter-finals held in the early hours of Tuesday morning. They are considered a strong medal chance.

AUSSIES IN ACTION — DAY 3

All times AEST

5pm: Men’s Beach Volleyball — Australia vs Italy (Mark Nicolaidis. Izac Carracher)

5.30pm: Rowing Heats

6pm: Men’s Hockey — Australia vs Ireland (Kookaburras)

7pm: Women’s Basketball — Australia vs Nigeria (Opals)

7pm: Swimming Heats

7pm: Men’s Diving — Synchronised 10m Platform Final (Domonic Bedggood, Cassiel Rousseau)

7pm: Equestrian — Eventing Team and Individual Jumping Qualifying (Chris Burton, Shane Rose)

8:20pm: Boxing — Men’s 63.5kg Round of 16, Harry Garside vs Richard Kovacs

10.30pm: Women’s Rugby Sevens — Australia vs Ireland

11pm: Equestrian — Eventing Individual Jumping Final (Chris Burton)