An embarrassing error by the organizers on Sunday marred South Sudan’s first basketball game at the Paris Olympics. The error marred a historic occasion wherein the South Sudan basketball team showcased their skills at the Olympics for the first time.
The African nation’s basketball team had lined up for the national anthems before their game against Puerto Rico. However, to their shock and horror, the Paris Olympics organisers played the wrong anthem, which left the players from South Sudan looking quite upset.
Following the error, supporters of South Sudan jeered from the stands at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d’Ascq.
The error was quickly fixed, and the right song was played to a chorus of cheers from Puerto Rico’s players and fans.
The contest against Puerto Rico marked South Sudan’s debut in the Olympic basketball competition.
The incident on Sunday was reminiscent of the faux pas by the Paris Olympics organisers at Friday’s opening ceremony, when South Korea’s Olympic squad was erronously introduced as North Korea.Â
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South Sudan create history at Paris Olympics
South Sudan created history at the Olympic Games on Sunday.
The youngest country in the world registered a thumping victory in their first game in Olympic history in the men’s basketball competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Nicknamed the ‘Bright Stars’, the South Sudan men’s basketball team made a promising start at their debut Olympic appearance, overpowering Puerto Rico by a comfortable 90-79 margin. The impresssive performance was spearheaded by Carlik Jones, who led the scoring charts with 19 points.
South Sudan had gone into the Paris Olympic Games with little expectations, having made their first appearance at an official international game a mere seven years ago.
However, basketball fans all over the world were forced to sit up and take notice when they African nation gave formidable United States a run for their money in a warmup match ahead of the Paris Olympics, taking the fight to the final seconds of the contest before narrowly losing 100-101.
