Larne's Claire Taggart feels 'like I've let my friends and family down' after Paralympic Games medal blow

The Team GB athlete lost out by 5-2 in the BC2 women’s individual boccia to Indonesia’s Gischa Zayana over the bronze medal meeting.

“I‘m absolutely gutted,” said Taggart. “I just feel like I’ve worked so hard for this and I feel like I’ve let my friends and family down.

"I’m gutted for me, my family and for the community I live in who really support me and are massive advocates of me...I’m absolutely devastated.”

Taggart reached that medal shot off a 3-2 semi-final loss to South Korea's Jeong Soyeong.

“I need to take a little bit of a break and decide what I do from there,” added Taggart. “I’m just feeling absolutely gutted and devastated right now."

Taggart will be back on court later this week to play as part of the BC1/2 Team GB squad alongside Kayleigh Haggo and David Smith OBE.

“It’s always a good opportunity to play in the team and it’s something that definitely picks up my mood so it will be good to do that,” she said. “But coming home after such highs of last night in winning the quarter-finals and then to lose these two games today, one within my own control and then that one, I just wasn’t good enough.

"The four-year cycle is so long and this is the only time we get to showcase our sport and to have failed so terribly is heart-breaking.”

Ballyclare’s Katie Morrow was in the Team GB squad that suffered weekend defeats to Canada and the People’s Republic of China over women’s wheelchair basketball.

Lisburn’s David Ross featured as a replacement on the Team GB squad list against France and USA to set up a men’s wheelchair rugby bronze showdown today with Australia (12:30pm, UK time).

Deaten Registe of Dungannon will represent Team Ireland in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB14 class today, with heats at 9:33am (UK time) then the finals from 6:09pm (UK time).

Claudy twin sisters Chloe MacCombe and Judith MacCombe will start for Team Ireland in the para-triathlon on a rescheduled time today of 11:05am (UK time) across class PTV1, with Catherine Sands and Eimear Nicholls the respective guides.