South Sudan’s opening Olympic basketball match has been overshadowed by an embarrassing anthem blunder by organisers.

The African nation’s basketball team looked distraught after the wrong anthem was played as they lined up before their clash with Puerto Rico.

South Sudan fans at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d’Ascq jeered from the stands after the blunder.

The mistake was swiftly rectified and the correct anthem was played, with Puerto Rico’s players and supporters applauding in unison.

South Sudan is competing in the Olympic basketball tournament for the first time.

“We present our most sincere apologies to the South Sudan team and their supporters,” organisers told AFP.

“We were able to quickly interrupt the anthem which was broadcast in error and play the correct anthem before the start of the game.” Sunday’s controversy echoed the gaffe at Friday’s opening ceremony, when South Korea’s Olympic team was incorrectly introduced as North Korea.

MURRAY’S BOLD BID ALIVE

Andy Murray said “pride and pressure” kept his tennis career alive at the Olympics on Sunday when he and partner Dan Evans saved five match points in their opening doubles match.

The former world number one and three-time Grand Slam title winner teamed up with Evans and clinched a 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 11-9 win over Japan’s Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori.

The British duo were 9-4 down in the final-set tiebreaker but were aided when Nishikori served a double fault on one of the match points, as the tension was cranked up on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Murray, 37, a two-time singles gold medallist at the Olympics in 2012 and 2016, will retire from the sport once his Olympics is over.

“I felt fine this morning. I was a bit nervous but I didn’t feel terrible,” said Murray as he looked back on what could have been his final day as a tennis player.

“As the match started I was feeling it a bit, I was aware of the situation but I still have some pride, I want to perform well.

“There is always pressure playing for your country at the Olympics. You want that pressure and if I didn’t feel that, then I shouldn’t be here.” Murray’s exploits down the years included famously ending Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion at Wimbledon when he triumphed in 2013.

However, he has been ravaged by injuries in recent years, slumping to 121st in the world. He pulled out of singles in Paris.

The Scot has played with a metal hip since 2019 and suffered ankle damage earlier this year before undergoing surgery to remove a spinal cyst, which ruled him out of singles at Wimbledon.

BILES DAZZLES IN RETURN

Gymnastics icon Simone Biles dazzled in her long-awaited return to the Olympic stage on Sunday as Paris braced for a blockbuster swimming duel on an action-packed day two at the Games.

A galaxy of A-listers, from Hollywood star Tom Cruise to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and music star Snoop Dogg, crowded into a packed Bercy Arena to watch as Biles began her quest for Olympic redemption.

The 27-year-old four-time Olympic champion opened her qualifying with a flawless performance on the beam, drawing loud applause from a star-studded crowd that also included actress Jessica Chastain, “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig and pop singer Ariana Grande.

Chants of “U-S-A” began to ring out even before gymnasts made their entrance for the second session of qualifying, and the roar when Biles was introduced was deafening.

Biles, a 23-time world champion widely regarded as the greatest gymnast in history, acknowledged the support with a wave and she blew a kiss to the crowd after her image was flashed up on a giant scoreboard.

Biles is competing in Paris three years after her campaign at the Tokyo Olympics unravelled due to a disorientating condition gymnasts call “twisties”.

After taking two years out, Biles made a triumphant comeback last year, earning four world titles to take her tally to an astonishing 23.

She could become the oldest all-around women’s all-around Olympic champion in 72 years and just the third woman to capture more than one Olympic all-around title.

She top-scored on three of the four apparatuses among her dominant USA team, and will qualify for both the invididual all-around finals as well as the finals of each apparatus – should she choose to compete in such a packed schedule.

Biles also became the first woman to compete the Yurchenko double pike vault at an Olympics.

Teammate Sunisa Lee pipped her score in the uneven bars and was second overall, some three points behind.

The uneven bars is considered Biles’s ‘weakest’ event, though she has prepared a new skill that will be named after her should she perform it in competition. Biles already has five skills named after her, the second-most in history.

That includes two vaults, two tumbling skills on the floor exercise, and a dismount on the beam.

“She’s just out of this world, isn’t she?” British gymnast Ruby Evans said. “We’ve never had anyone like her before and I don’t think we ever will, ever again.”

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There were mild concerns as Biles appeared to be limping during the vault warmups. Coach Cecile Landi said it was a minor calf issue from a fortnight ago that flared up, claiming there was no concern over Biles’ ability to continue competing.

“She felt better at the end. On bars, she started to feel better,” Landi said.

The women’s team final takes place at 2.15am on July 31 (AEST), before the women’s all-around final at 2.15am on August 2. The individual events take place in the days thereafter.

Australia will attempt to qualify for the team’s final from 5.10am Monday morning.

TRIATHLON CLEAN-UP NOT WORKING JUST YET

Paris’ $2.3 billion attempt to clean up the river Seine in time for it to host the Olympic triathlon may have failed.

World Triathlon and Paris 2024 announced they were forced to cancel the first training session for athletes, being held two days out from the men’s triathlon.

Heavy rain caused the water quality to fall below the acceptable standard but if it dries up, there is still some chance the event occurs.

“The priority is the health of the athletes,” World Triathlon and Paris 2024’s statement read.

“The tests carried out in the Seine revealed water quality levels that in the view of the international federation, World Triathlon, did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.

“Given the weather forecast for the next 48 hours, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon are confident that water quality will return to below limits before the start for of the triathlon competitions (on 30 July).”

If the water quality remains poor the events could be postponed or moved to the Marne river east of Paris.

RAFA-DJOKER SHOWDOWN IS ON!

Rafael Nadal “is ready to play” Olympic singles on Sunday despite concerns over a thigh injury with a mouthwatering clash against old rival Novak Djokovic tantalisingly within reach.

The 38-year-old Nadal, who won his opening doubles clash alongside Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday, is due to face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in the first round but has been playing with a heavily bandaged right thigh.

“The issue of the bandage is cumbersome, but it is also an issue of prevention,” said Spain captain David Ferrer.

“We will see when the match is over how it evolves, but as I say, the important thing is that today he has warmed up, that he is ready to play.”

On Saturday, Nadal had cast doubt on his participation in the singles, insisting he would “make the smartest decision that I can to have the best chance of bringing a medal home, so let’s see.”

Nadal, a singles gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and doubles title-winner at Rio four years later, is playing just his seventh tournament of 2024.

Before suffering a thigh injury, he had also battled a hip problem and sat out Wimbledon, with his singles ranking plummeting to 161.

Should he beat Fucsovics, he will face Djokovic in the second round int heir 60th career meeting.

Djokovic, chasing a first Olympic gold to add to his 24 Grand Slams, brushed aside Australia’s Matthew Ebden 6-0, 6-1 in just 53 minutes under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier.

Djokovic said he had been looking forward to the prospect of facing Nadal again.

“If we face each other, it’s possibly going to be for the last time on the big stage,” said the Serb.

Djokovic was barely pushed by 36-year-old Ebden, who only made the tournament as an alternate after a series of injury pullouts.

The Australian Open doubles champion was broken six times and hit just seven winners to the 24 of Djokovic.