DICK Clarke has revealed his son Jonty feels he has missed out on the biggest opportunity of his career after failing to win a medal at the Olympic Games.

Jonty was part of the Great Britain hockey team who were beaten 3-1 by Australia in their third place play off at the Riverbank Arena on Saturday.

But Clarke senior feels the team should still be proud of their achievements.

“Jonty was disappointed to not get a medal and felt it was a huge missed opportunity because it was a home Olympics but I still think they’ve done very well,” said Clarke.

“They went in to the Games with a ranking of fourth so they’ve matched that and there were plenty of other teams who failed to perform as expected.

“The women’s team also won bronze so I think it’s been a good time for the sport as a whole and, in time, I think Jonty will feel the same.”

And Dick, who himself is a former international hockey player, insisted Jonty should be pleased with his own personal performances.

“I’m very proud of how Jonty played and he should be as well,” said Clarke, whose son scored against both Pakistan and Australia in the group stages.

“He’s had a good tournament and it was always going to be tough against Australia on Saturday.

“They came in to the Olympics as gold medal favorites and, after about 20 minutes, they just didn’t give us any space to play.”

However, that was not enough to stop Dick and his wife Sue, who both live in Leigh , enjoying the Games.

“The whole Olympics have been stunning,” said Clarke.

“We’ve been going up there every other day and haven’t heard a single cross word.

“Everyone has been happy and smiling and for me it’s been the best Olympics ever and plenty of other people have been saying that to Jonty as well.”