Aussie veteran’s gutting admission after Paris defeat

The hunt to dismiss the feeling of heartbreak endured in Tokyo 2020 came to a devastating end as the Australian Steelers were pipped at the line by Japan.
The semi-final match-up was a repeat of the bronze-medal match at Tokyo 2020 in which Japan triumphed 60-52.
But this time, the Steelers’ medal hopes have yet to come to an end.
LIVE UPDATES: Paris Paralympics, day four
READ MORE: Cheating saga sees Aussie rower elevated to bronze
READ MORE: Chinese-born Aussie super duo win gold for Australia
In Paris, Japan triumphed 52-51 in extra time after a tense battle.
Ryley Batt, who led a huge defensive effort along with Chris Bond in the third term, told Nine he felt accountable for the team’s defeat.
“With 15 seconds to go, we had it in control,” Batt said.
“Bondy and I were slipping so much out there, so much sweat. The ball was wet. There’s no excuse, though. You can’t train to those conditions and that pressure.
“Unfortunately, Bondy had a fumble and then I did a fumble with 15 seconds to go. Very uncharacteristic for us. That’s my biggest mistake in my career, to be honest.
“Oh man it sucks. I’m a big game player, I love this stuff.
“It’s hard but that’s sport isn’t it?”
The high-quality encounter was much closer than the result in Tokyo, with just five turnovers recorded.
But two late Australian turnovers proved to be costly, cruelling the Steelers’ gold medal hopes with heartbreak etched on their faces.
Ryley Batt scores a try in Australia’s semi-final clash against Japan. Nine
“I feel sick. I genuinely feel sick for them all. That is shattering,” Dylan Alcott said on Nine’s coverage.
Both teams went end-for-end in the opening half with a denied try on the stroke of half-time for Japan the first break in points for the match.
Strong Steelers defence negated Japan’s attempts to level the scores approaching the final break in regular time.
The Steelers had a chance to seal victory in the final seconds but turned the ball over to confirm three minutes of overtime.
Australian captain Chris Bond.  Getty Images for IPC
Bond reiterated the frustrations while praising his team’s commitment and durability against one of the competition’s most “in-form teams”.
“I think, you know, going into these Games, people probably would have touted that to be the final, us versus Japan, probably the two in-form teams coming into this comp,” Bond said.
“We had the chance to win it, just couldn’t clinch it in the end, they were too smart for us.
“We played them a lot, they are in our zone so they know our game, we know their game, and we knew it’d be close.
With 15 seconds to go, the Aussies just had to “get the ball in and score but it just wasn’t our night”.
Watch every moment, every medal of the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9, 9Gem and 9Now. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.
“Right now it’s a lot to take in, I’m sure it’ll be pretty quiet in the dressing room and on the bus ride home,” Bond said.
“We were pretty hyped up and we liked our chances going into this one, so I’ll give everyone some space.
“But we’ll get back to the village, sleep it off, and tomorrow we’ll just get back up.
“We’ve got one game to go, one game to play regardless. There’s a medal on the line and we’re going to get back out tomorrow and verse wherever that is.”