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. Read our liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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10:59pm: Denmark’s Rune pulls out of Olympic tennis with injury
Denmark’s Holger Rune said Wednesday that a wrist injury has forced him to withdraw from the Olympic Games tennis tournament.
The former world number four has struggled for form this season, failing to reach a final since the first week of the year and slipping to 16th in the rankings.
“I am really sorry that I will be unable to play the Olympics,” the 21-year-old said in a social media post.
“I have played with pain in my wrist throughout both the clay and grass season, so I have to take the medical recommendations seriously.”
9:44pm: Argentina Olympic football team booed after racism scandal
Argentina’s Olympic football team were given a hostile reception by fans in their opening match against Morocco on Wednesday, after a recent racism scandal following their senior side’s Copa America triumph.
The players were met with boos and whistles when they entered the field in Saint-Etienne, while the Argentinian national anthem was also jeered.
The vast majority of the 35,000-strong crowd, most of them supporting Morocco, continued to whistle at Argentina’s players during the game.
FIFA has announced an investigation into the chants sung by Argentina players, including Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, 23, after they won the Copa America with a 1-0 final victory over Colombia.
9:20pm: Israel’s national anthem loudly jeered before football match against Mali
Israel’s national anthem was loudly jeered before its soccer team kicked off play at the Paris Olympics against Mali on Wednesday night.
Mali fans sang proudly when their anthem was played first. When it came to Israel’s anthem, boos and whistles immediately rang out. The stadium speaker system playing the anthems then got notably louder in what seemed like an effort to drown out the jeers.
Once play began, Israeli players were booed each time they touched the ball.
9:18pm: 1,000 French police secure Israel-Mali Olympics football game
Around 1,000 French police officers were on duty on Wednesday to provide security at Israel’s football match against Mali at the Paris Olympics where protests were expected, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
The game involving the Israeli team at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, as well as the Ukraine-Iraq match in the southeastern city of Lyon, have been identified by French security forces as high risk.
“All the competitions have a security plan, but it’s true that these two matches, and particularly the match at the Parc des Princes, will have security, an anti-terror perimeter,” Darmanin told BFM television and RMC radio.
“Tonight at the Parc des Princes there will be a thousand police officers who will ensure that we are there for the sport,” he added.
All Israeli athletes at the Paris Games, which start officially on Friday, will have round-the-clock personal security provided by elite French police, both inside the Olympic village and every time they leave the compound in northern Paris.
9:00pm: France win 19-12 over Uruguay in Sevens Rugby
In a see-saw match, France took the lead only for Uruguay to peg them back, a burst of pace from Jefferson-Lee Joseph finally breaking the deadlock to the collective relief of the sold-out 69,000 crowd.
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