– Niall Kelly reports from Rio de Janeiro
IRELAND’S SCOTT EVANS bowed out in the last 16 on Monday evening, but not before he left his mark on the Olympic badminton tournament.
Evans broke new ground over the weekend when he beat Marc Zwiebler and home favourite Ygor Coelho de Oliveira — the first-ever wins by an Irish man at the Olympics.
Both wins sparked an emotional reaction with the colourful Dubliner taking off his t-shirt on court as part of the celebrations.
This evening, as defeat to Viktor Axelsen ended his Olympic adventure, Evans went topless one last time, and was joined by a number of Ireland’s hockey team who paid tribute from their seats in the Riocentro stands.
“It’s just an unbelievable feeling,” Evans said afterwards of the hockey team’s support.
“Stuff like that I’m never, ever going to forget for the rest of my life.
“A lot of those guys I’ve known since I was 13, 14 years of age.
“We’ve had a great couple of weeks together in Rio and supported each other like crazy and I’m just so honoured that they’ve come here today to support me.”
