Australia’s new boxing superstar Teremoana Teremoana has fallen short in his bid to claim an Olympic medal.
With a nation on his shoulders and the majority of the arena behind him, Teremoana put on an inspired showing against reigning Olympic champion Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB), losing his 92kg+ quarter-final in a 5-0 decision.
Despite the final score, it was an impressive showing from the 26-year-old, who left the North Paris Arena with his trademark grin shining through his disappointment.
“I guess it just wasn't my time to get a medal,” he said.
“I know I've done my family proud, done my country proud and made a little bit of history along the way.
“Obviously I was going for gold and I know I’ve got the skill to go for gold.
“I'm not upset about the draw. I was very happy to get the best along the way.
“I still believe I'm the best in the world, and unfortunately it's not my day today.”
As Teremoana walked out into the the North Paris Arena, he could’ve been mistaken for thinking he was in Australia instead of 15,000km away in Paris with the noise level of the crowd.
The atmosphere definitely pumped up the Queenslander who came out strongly against Jalolov in the opening moments of the bout.
Forcing him against the ropes constantly, it was a close affair, with the decision ultimately going the way of the Uzbek boxer in the first round.
Several early hits from Jalolov early in the next round set the tone for the second, with Teremoana forcing his way back in late and only narrowly lost the round in a split decision.
Jalolov took the third round with points from all five judges, giving the final result to the 30-year-old in a unanimous decision.
“I thought I won the first and third round, but obviously the judges didn't see it the same way,” Teremoana said.
“I landed a few clean shots, he landed a few more in the second round, so I let myself down there.
“You can never be robbed by the judges. It's just the game.
“You just take it into your own hands and be dominant. I thought I did, but oh well.”
Teremoana will take time to enjoy the rest of his Olympic experience before deciding on whether he’ll continue to Los Angeles in 2028.
“I’ve given myself until 2030 to box, and then we're just going to have to see what happens after that,” he said.
“So I've got another six years in me, so LA possibly because it's in the time frame, we’ll see how we go.”
Teammate Tina Rahimi took to the ring in the evening session in the women’s 57kg preliminary round, going down to Polish opponent Julia Szeremeta.
The vocal Aussie contingent continued to be in full voice throughout Tina’s, with loud chants of ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi’ filling the arena throughout the entirety of the bout.
After a fast start in which the 28-year-old came out firing at Szeremeta, the Polish boxer was able to control the remainder of the bout, winning with a unanimous 5-0 decision.
Tina said although she was disappointed with the result, she was proud to be representing her country on the biggest stage.
“I've literally sacrificed so much,” she said. “I knew that I gave it everything, that I had the preparation, the time away from home, just everything
“I’ve inspired so many people and I'm so proud to do that.
“I'm so proud to be representing Australia.”
This article was originally written for The Australian Olympic Team. You can read the published version here
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