- Harry Garside could not hide his Olympic pain
- Australian crashed out of men’s boxing in Paris
- Garside felt he had let the country down after his defeat.
Harry Garside could not hide his pain when his 20-year dream was crushed in just nine minutes at the Olympic Games.
Garside, 27, fell to Hungary’s Richard Kovacs by unanimous decision in their last-16 clash, a surprise result given the Victorian won bronze in Tokyo and was targeting gold this time around.
The popular boxer had to cut short his media appearances after breaking down, having initially said he had let his country down.
“I feel like a failure,” Garside said.
“It’s a wild sport, after three years to end it just like that… I feel very numb, I didn’t imagine this would happen.
“I love Australia and I really envisioned winning that gold medal for Australia.”
Speaking previously to Nine, Garside, who has been open about his battles with mental health, made the worrying admission that he is worried about the coming months as he comes to terms with his defeat.
‘I feel pretty numb right now, but I feel like the next month or two are going to be pretty challenging, pretty difficult.
Harry Garside has shared his grief after seeing his Olympic dream shattered
The Australian was eliminated from the men’s boxing in the round of 16.
‘I fear for my mind, it controls me, I feel like I have disappointed some people, but what do I do?
‘Australia is a very sporting nation and I am very sorry about that.
‘I feel like a failure right now. I don’t even know what to say.
“I know that athletes should be saying the right thing at the moment and thank you very much, but deep down I’m afraid of what the next few months will bring,” said a visibly devastated Garside.
“I’m sure there will be dark moments, man. I have to be prepared for that now.”