The pain was all over Harry Garside's face - but not from any blows inflicted by his Hungarian opponent, who served up a shock opening defeat to the Australian boxing star in Paris.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Seeking to become the first Australian to win an Olympic boxing gold medal following his break-through lightweight bronze in Toyko, a shattered Garside had to cut short his media interview after breaking down.
After a first-round bye, the 27-year-old Victorian fell to Richard Kovacs by unanimous decision in their round of 16 clash, with Garside saying he'd let the country down.
"I feel like a failure, to be honest," Garside said.
"As an athlete you put a lot of expectation on yourself and for the run to be over just like that, I feel like a failure right now.
"I love Australia and I really envisioned winning that gold medal for Australia, I really thought I could do it."
Garside started brightly, bouncing around the ring as he showed off his trademark footwork, with the five judges scoring him a 3-2 for the first three-minute round.
But the awkward Hungarian, a five-time national champion, tried to antagonise the Australian, coming forward with his hands down and his tongue out.
He got the better of Garside in the second round, winning it 5-0, with the Australian unable to land enough scoring shots.
The fifth seed in the 63.5kg division, Garside needed to find something special in the third round but again fell short, with another 5-0 round going to Kovacs.
"He made the adaptions that he needed to in that second round and that showboating really was on his side as well but that's not in my nature," said the fan favourite, who cut short his fledgling professional career after three fights to chase gold.
"No offence to him, he's a great athlete and that's how some boxers box, that's just not what I'm about."
With his voice faltering, the deep-thinking Garside said he felt he'd been "too nice" to himself leading into the Games and feared what lay ahead in terms of his mental state.
He revealed earlier this month he had suicidal thoughts last year after a charge of alleged domestic violence for which he was later cleared
"It sounds so crazy but over the last four years I've become my own friend," Garside said.
"Before the last Olympics, I hated myself, and it got results (bronze at Tokyo 2020).
"I have a better relationship with myself but I think I was being too nice to myself. I've got to reflect on that and see what's next.
"The sun will come up tomorrow whatever happens but I know the next few months will be a pretty hard time.
"I'm sure I'll have some dark moments. I'm f*****g terrified."
Earlier at North Paris Arena, Tyla McDonald made a similar early exit from the women's 60kg division, losing by unanimous decision to Ecuador's Maria Jose Espinoza Palacios.
The Victorian 21-year-old, making her Olympic debut, had no answer to the relentless jabs from her rangy rival.
"That whole moment just got to me," said McDonald, who had a first-round bye.
"I've never been so nervous, it was a lot, and I felt really uneasy in there."
Australian Associated Press
