Dutchman Van de Velde, competing alongside fellow countryman Matthew Immers, suffered a straight-sets defeat to Brazil’s Evandro Oliveira and Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci, bringing their campaign to an end at the round-of-16 stage.
Van de Velde’s participation has proved one of the most divisive talking points of this summer’s Games, with the 29-year-old convicted for the rape of a 12-year-old English girl in 2016.
Aged 19 at the time, Van de Velde served just 12 months of his four-year sentence and the Netherlands’ Olympic team have faced heavy criticism throughout the Games for his inclusion in the French capital.
But while fans, victims and a host of high-profile sporting figures have joined in condemning Van de Velde’s inclusion both before and during the competition, the IOC were ultimately powerless in preventing him from taking part.
The Netherlands’ emphatic loss at the hands of Brazil means Van de Velde will now be heading home, though, and the Dutchman – whose name remains on the sex offenders registry – was booed each and every time he served the Eiffel Tower Stadium.
There were also loud jeers as Van de Velde made his way on and off the court this evening, with his partner, Immers, describing the the match as an ’emotional roller coaster’ for all involved.
‘We fought. We enjoyed every moment. So I’m really proud of that,’ Immers said after the Netherlands’ elimination was confirmed.
‘It was the coolest stadium I ever played in… I’m sad that we couldn’t show our level.
‘But everything around it, I enjoyed it.’
Van de Velde has refused to speak to the media in the mixed zone after the Netherlands’ contests at the Games and he once again blanked reporters seeking comment in the wake of the defeat.
‘If I can speak for him, after the match we lost, we were disappointed,’ Immmers added.
‘But we said to each other: “Look what we did together. Look how hard we fought with all the attention”. We stayed together.
‘We cried together off the field and said, “OK, let’s just enjoy this moment”, and we did that. So I’m happy we did it that way.’
‘We still got a ninth on our first Olympics and I’m proud of that,’ he continued.
‘And we keep on going.’
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