The pain was all over Harry Garside's face, but not from any blows inflicted by his Hungarian opponent, who served up a shock opening defeat to the Australian boxing star in Paris.
Seeking to become the first Australian to win an Olympic boxing gold medal following his breakthrough lightweight bronze in Toyko, a shattered Garside had to cut short his media interview after breaking down.
After a first-round bye, the 27-year-old Victorian fell to Richard Kovacs by unanimous decision in their round of 16 clash, with Garside saying he felt like he had let the country down.
"I feel like a failure," Garside said.
"It's a wild sport, after three years for it to be over just like … I feel very numb, I didn't envision this happening.
"I love Australia and I really envisioned winning that gold medal for Australia."
Garside started brightly, bouncing around the ring as he showed off his trademark footwork, and won the first round 3-2.
But the awkward Hungarian, a five-time national champion, tried to antagonise the Australian, coming forward with his hands down and his tongue out.
He got the better of Garside in the second round, scored 5-0, with the Australian unable to land enough scoring shots.
The fifth seed in the 63.5kg division, Garside needed to find something special in the third round but again fell short, with another 5-0 round going to Kovacs.
"He made the adaptions that he needed to in that second round and that showboating really was on his side as well but that's not in my nature," the Australian said.
With his voice faltering, Garside said he felt he'd been "too nice" to himself leading into the Games.
"Before the last Olympics I hated myself, but then the relationship I got with myself is extremely good … but I started being too nice to myself," he said.
Garside will stay in Paris and support the remainder of the 12-strong boxing contingent before contemplating his next move.
Earlier at North Paris Arena, Tyla McDonald made a similar early exit from the women's 60kg division, losing by unanimous decision to Ecuador's Maria Jose Espinoza Palacios.
The Victorian 21-year-old, making her Olympic debut, had no answer to the relentless jabs from her rangy rival.
"That whole moment just got to me," said McDonald, who had a first-round bye.
"I've never been so nervous, it was a lot, and I felt really uneasy in there."
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AAP