Women’s sevens team bows out on a high to finish 11th

Ongama Gcwabe

TEAM South Africa’s women’s sevens team secured 11th place at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after defeating Fiji 21-15 yesterday.

Four tries from Nadine Roos in the first half of the clash, followed by Zintle Mpupha’s solitary try in the second half were enough to see the South Africans get over the line despite Fiji fighting hard in the latter stages of the encounter.

With the men’s sevens team, Alan Hatherly and Tatjana Smith having added a medal each in the first few days of the Games, there was anticipation of more medals to come as Team SA competed in four other different disciplines yesterday.

However, it proved to be a day where Olympic participation took centre stage, with a handful of South Africans representing the country proudly, despite not securing greater honours.

Paige Bandenhorst competed in the quarter-final of the women’s single sculls rowing event but fell short of qualifying for the semi-final as she finished fourth in her heat. In the BMX freestyle event, Vincent Leygonie competed for a spot in the men’s park qualification but with only nine qualification spots in the 12-rider competition, the 26-year-old missed out as he finished last in the rankings.

Meanwhile, Japan’s ace gymnast Daiki Hashimoto gave his country a fairy-tale ending with a drama-packed team win at the Paris Games on Monday, and served up a bonus with a gesture of spontaneous sportsmanship that had social media abuzz with adulation.

After Japan’s come-from-behind victory over China a day earlier, fans posted photos and video clips yesterday of the all-around champion facing the stands with an index finger to his lips, gesturing for the crowd to quiet down for his Chinese rival Zhang Boheng’s final routine.

It had been a roller-coaster ride for Japanese fans ‒ and Hashimoto ‒ as the Tokyo team silver medallist had made his squad’s only major error during the event by falling off the pommel horse, leaving Japan far behind.

“To be able to do something like that when the team could have still lost is the mark of true sportsmanship,” one user wrote on X. “So cool.”

The tides turned just before anchor Hashimoto took to the high bar after Zhang’s teammates bungled their routines on the final apparatus to suddenly and improbably give Japan a shot at the team title.

Hashimoto later recalled the emotions that welled up as he completed his high bar without incident and heard the Bercy Arena crowd roar and applaud.

“The landing wasn’t perfect and that was a bummer, but seeing the audience standing in ovation made it the best moment. Even before the performance my eyes were a bit teary, and after the landing I felt indescribable joy,” he said.

But that did not stop the 22-year-old from shushing the audience in consideration of Zhang and shaking his hand, followed by a quick hug. The two are widely considered favourites to win the individual all-around title today.

Zhang’s final score on the high bar cemented Japan’s win, by less than a point, leaving China with silver.

Hashimoto and his teammates Kazuma Kaya, Shinnosuke Oka, Takaaki Sugino and Wataru Tanigawa rounded off the evening with one final gesture of sportsmanship at the medals ceremony.

After the US and Chinese men collected their bronze and silver medals, Team Japan stepped down from the podium to shake the hands of their 10 opponents, before stepping up again to receive their medals. | additional reporting by Reuters