Football and Rugby Sevens matches kicked off the Summer Olympics in Paris on Wednesday, two days ahead of the much-anticipated opening ceremony that will see hundreds of thousands of spectators line the banks of the River Seine. Despite high expectations, the French rugby team starring star scrum-half Antoine Dupont was held to a 12-12 draw by the US. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates on the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
3:58pm: Top-ranked Sinner out of Olympic tennis due to illness
World number one Jannik Sinner withdrew from the Paris Olympics tennis tournament on Wednesday after falling ill with tonsillitis.
The Italian said he had started feeling ill on Monday after a practice week in Monaco and was advised to drop out.
“After seeing my doctors on Tuesday and waiting an extra day to give myself some more time to see if my condition would improve, things unfortunately got worse,” Sinner said in a statement.
“I was looking forward to competing with my teammates and the rest of the Italian team, but for now that will have to wait,” Sinner said adding that the Olympics had been “was one of my main goals for this season”.
The 22-year-old, who won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open earlier this year, became the first Italian to top the world rankings after his recent run to the semi-finals at the French Open.
3:56pm: Argentina snatch draw with Morocco
Argentina, playing without Lionel Messi in these Games, got the ball rolling at 3pm against Morocco in Saint-Étienne at Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium. It is nicknamed Le Chaudron (The Cauldron) for the fervent atmosphere created by passionate supporters of the local club.
Fans of Morocco and Argentina mingled outside and two Argentina fans held up a flag with a photo of the late Diego Maradona on it, along with the words “El Pibe de Oro” (the Golden Kid) — the affectionate nickname fans called the 1986 World Cup winner.
The game ended 2-2, with striker Soufiane Rahimi scoring twice for Morocco. After the first goal, he was joined by his teammates as they knelt in a prayer pose. Cristian Medina equalized for Argentina in the 16th minute of stoppage time.
3:46pm: Uzbekistan loses the match but wins over crowd as football competition kicks off Paris Olympics
Uzbekistan lost the match but won over the crowd on Wednesday as competition at the Paris Olympics officially began with football matches in Paris and Saint-Etienne.
Uzbekistan fans chanted and danced throughout a 2-1 defeat to Spain, to the rhythm of a furiously fast drum beat at Parc des Princes in western Paris — once the home of French striker Kylian Mbappé when he played for Paris Saint-Germain.
Toward the end of the game they encouraged large sections of the crowd to clap in unison with their hands raised above their heads, in the style of the Viking Thunder Clap first introduced by Iceland fans at the 2016 European Championship, which was held in France.
3:21pm: France held to draw in Rugby Sevens opener
France struggled to live up to pre-tournament billing as favourites for Olympic Gold in rugby sevens Wednesday, held to a 12-12 draw by the United States to the disappointment of a packed Stade de France.
Dupont played 12 minutes of the 12-12 Pool C draw, the Americans scoring the equalising try after he had been subbed off.
Dupont has established himself as one of world rugby’s best players and the scrum-half cuts an iconic figure in France.
The 27-year-old took a gamble of missing the Six Nations to make the French Olympic team, a move that led to some criticism.
2:09pm: Australia squeeze past Samoa in Rugby Sevens opener
Australia laid down a marker to home favourites France and double Olympic champions Fiji, kicking off the rugby sevens tournament Wednesday with a 21-14 win over Samoa at a packed Stade de France.
The Australians started nervously, with several handling errors, and Samoa opened the scoring, Motu Opetai intercepting a long pass to run most of the length of the pitch.
But Australia hit back just before half time, with Henry Hutchison smashing through a rare Samoan missed tackle to level the scores at the break.
A Nathan Lawson try in the corner doubled Australia’s advantage halfway through the second half, accurate long passing stretching the Samoan defence.
Hutchison touched down his second try with seconds to go as the Samoan defensive effort took its toll on their fitness. Faafoi Falaniko nabbed a consolation try right at the death.
(with AP, AFP and Reuters)
