'Numb' Harry Garside apologises for loss in crushing interview after shock Paris crash
Updated . First published at
PARIS: A "numb" Harry Garside has bared his soul and apologised to Australia in a confronting ringside interview after his dream of Olympic gold was cut down in his first bout at Paris 2024.
Garside, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, went down by unanimous decision to Hungarian Richard Kovacs in the 63.5kg division at the Arena Paris Nord on Monday, in a monumental upset.
"It's crazy mate, two decades dedicated to one dream and it's over just like that," Garside told Brenton Ragless on Nine's Paris 2024 coverage.
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A devastated Harry Garside reflects on his first round loss at Paris 2024. Nine
"I feel pretty numb right now but I feel the next month or two will be quite challenging, quite hard.
"I fear for my mind, it gets the better of me, I feel like I let a few people down but what do you do?
"Australia's such a sporting nation and I'm so sorry.
"I feel like a failure right now. I don't even know what to say."
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Australia's Harry Garside, right, has been knocked out of the Olympics. AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos
Garside had the better of the early exchanges and was awarded the first round 3-2 by the five judges, with his trademark fast feet on show.
But the feisty Kovacs hit back in the second, goading the 27-year-old Victorian with his hands down and tongue out.
The antagonising Kovacs was awarded the second and third rounds 5-0 to send the fifth-seeded Garside home in the round of 16 and ending his hopes of being the first Australian to win a boxing gold.
It was a bitter blow for Garside, who returned to amateur Olympic competition for Paris after a brief foray into professional ranks.
"I know sportsmen are just supposed to say the right thing right now and thank you so much but deep down inside I fear for what the next couple of months look like for myself," a visibly shattered Garside said.
"I'm sure there'll be some dark times mate, I've got to be prepared for that now."
Garside has been open about his mental health struggles in recent years, revealing earlier this year that he had contemplated suicide in the wake of domestic violence allegations against him that were later thrown out of court.
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