Paris 2024: David Smith says “Boccia gods were playing with me” in shock defeat

After missing out on a medal in the men’s individual BC1 tournament, boccia great David Smith said, “If I didn’t laugh, I would cry,” as he made jokes to journalists. He has won the individual event at two straight Paralympic Games, and was competing in Paris in a bid to continue his dominance on the biggest stage. 

However, a shock semifinal defeat to South Korea’s Jung Sungjoon and a 5-3 loss to Paralympic debutant Muhamad Syafa of Indonesia on 1 September meant that he did not make the podium in the individual event for the first time since Beijing 2008. 

“I knew I would lose at some point, but just unfortunate the way that it turned out that it was a semifinal that I should’ve won,” said the British star, who was competing with his trademark blue and red hair from Tokyo 2020. 

 “On another day, I would have won that (semifinal) win comfortably.  

“It’s just that the boccia gods were playing with me, massively, and it just didn’t work.” 

Boccia gods

The first Paris 2024 medals in boccia were awarded on 1 September. Smith says he was not thinking about medals so much at his fifth Paralympics, believing that results would follow if he played as well as he could.  

He also did not feel the pressure as a defending champion because “I’ve done it” already in his stunning career. But he says the level of the sport has grown so much in recent years.  

“It’s so different. Maybe when I won gold in Rio, where there were maybe one or two (medal contenders), and then obviously in Tokyo, there were a few more. But it was still maybe me and a couple of others.” 

“But this time around, I came in not dominant. I came in knowing that I had to hold on to the world number one for a long, long time, and I’ve been clinging onto it with my fingernails, knowing that there are people either side of me waiting to take it.” 

Top of his game 

At the South Paris Arena 1, Smith won all three of his preliminary stage games over the past three days. But he said he reached the “top of his game” early in the tournament. 

“I knew it myself that I can’t do much more than that. That’s it—when you’re playing at the top level, and you know that you’ve got three games to go and you’ve already hit your top standard, when you had to hit your top standard to beat someone to get out of the pool on the right side,” he said. “I gave myself the best possible chance, but I ran out of gas.” 

In the semifinal, Smith surrendered a three-point lead that he had after the first end, allowing the South Korean athlete to pull off a 4-3 win. Later in the day, he also gave up the lead to Indonesia’s Syafa. 

“The floor (of the arena) didn’t help, so I’ve been struggling and trying to find my way through it. It just doesn’t suit my game,” Smith said. 

“I’ve medalled in every single tournament I've have in the last three years, which is I think some achievement, considering the standard that you can now see. Just unfortunately, not this time around.” 

One more event 

Smith still has one more event in Paris before he heads home. He will compete in the mixed team BC1/BC2 event with Claire Taggart from 3 to 5 September. 

“I think we’ve got a good team, and I think we’ve got a good chance as well as all the other teams,” he said. 

“But who knows? I don’t know. I’m not going to predict the team anymore because my predictions have been rubbish.” 

Medal matches in Paris 

In other medal games, Portugal’s Cristina Goncalves won the inaugural women’s individual BC2 event after beating South Korea’s Jeong Soyeong 4-1. Japan’s Hiromi Ando took bronze on her Paralympic debut. 

For the first time at the Paralympics, men and women are competing separately in the individual competition in Paris.  

Worawut Saengampa of Thailand won gold in the men’s tournament, with Muhammad Bintang Herlangga of Indonesia taking silver. Thailand’s four-time Paralympic gold medallist Watcharaphon Vongsa finished with bronze.