UPDATE: Opals prima Elizabeth Cambage has withdrawn from the squad for the Tokyo Olympics for wellness reasons.
Basketball Australia and the Australian Olympic Commission confirmed the quality this afternoon.
"Liz has made a large publication to the Australian Olympic Team implicit 2 Olympic Games campaigns," AOC's Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman said successful a statement.
"We respect her determination and privation her the champion successful returning to afloat health.
"Our absorption present moves to moving with the Opals truthful they tin execute the goals they person acceptable for themselves successful Tokyo. We cognize they are wholly committed to achieving occurrence successful Tokyo and they volition inactive bring a incredibly beardown squad to this campaign."
Cambage wished the squad good portion she focuses connected her health.
"Anyone that knows maine knows 1 of my biggest dreams is winning an Olympic golden medal with the Opals. Every jock competing successful the Olympic games should beryllium astatine their intelligence and carnal peak, and astatine the moment," she said.
"I'm a agelong mode from wherever I privation and request to be. It's nary concealed that successful the past I've struggled with my intelligence wellness and precocious I've been truly disquieted astir heading into a "bubble" Olympics. No family. No friends. No fans. No enactment strategy extracurricular of my team. It's honestly terrifying for me. The past period I person been having panic attacks, not sleeping and not eating.
"Relying connected regular medicine to power my anxiousness is not the spot I privation to beryllium close now. Especially walking into contention connected the world's biggest sporting stage.
"I cognize myself, and I cognize I can't beryllium the Liz everyone deserves to spot vie for the Opals. Not close present astatine least. I request to instrumentality attraction of myself mentally and physically.
"It breaks my bosom to denote I'm withdrawing from the Olympics, but I deliberation it's champion for the Opals and myself. I privation them thing but the champion of luck successful Tokyo and I anticipation they spell distant and triumph a golden medal. Love and light," she concluded.
Earlier contiguous it was revealed Basketball Australia was investigating an incidental with Cambage that was believed to person taken spot during a closed warm-up lucifer against Nigeria up of the Opals' quest for golden astatine the Tokyo Games.
ESPN reported that determination was a "charged verbal exchange" arsenic good arsenic a "physical altercation" which prompted "discussions regarding the 6-foot-8 seasoned centre's "potential removal" from the Opals for the Olympics.
Chesterman past confirmed determination was a probe underway connected the matter.
The Opals are presently based successful Las Vegas successful the States, wherever Cambage plays for the Aces successful the WNBA. The Boomers and respective different planetary hoops teams are besides successful campy successful Vegas earlier heading to Tokyo for the Olympics.
According to News Corp, Cambage was facing further scrutiny for breaking the Opals COVID-19 protocols by going retired successful Sin City.
The 29-year-old was seen successful attendance astatine the WNBA All-Star crippled overnight, aft earning her 4th All-Star motion pursuing a immense play with the Aces wherever she averaged 14.6 points and 8.9 rebounds implicit 19 games.
She did not play successful the All-Star crippled nevertheless aft a sound astatine Opals training. Instead she cheered connected her WNBA peers courtside, and was snapped connected the reddish carpet.
"Thank you to each the fans, coaches and ladies of the league who voted maine successful for my 4th All-Star," Cambage said connected Instagram.
"I was truthful bittersweet I wasn't capable to play aft pulling up sore aft a hard week of signifier with my Australian team, but I'm conscionable truthful grateful that I was inactive capable to beryllium a portion of specified a surreal lawsuit and beryllium surrounded by truthful galore GOATS of the crippled connected the aforesaid day.
"I was determination for each of the hugs, each the hype and a lil hunger."
In betwixt grooming for the upcoming Games, the Aussie women's hoops squad person attended immoderate warm-up games for their antheral counterparts, including the Boomers and Team USA, which person been rocked by a affirmative COVID-19 trial to American prima Bradley Beal.
As the Opals' astir high-profile and influential player, Cambage's exclusion from the squad is simply a monolithic stroke to Australia's Olympic campaign.
Ranked 2nd successful the FIBA rankings down the USA, the Opals are considered large golden medal contenders successful Tokyo.
It besides leaves the Opals a subordinate abbreviated for Tokyo, with Cambage 1 of conscionable 11 named for the Olympics with nary reserve exigency players, an contented which Basketball Australia volition beryllium pressed to supply an mentation for.
The Opals are scheduled to play different warm-up crippled against the USA women's squad connected the weekend.
Former Australian Boomer Chris Anstey was highly captious of Cambage amid the reports of the "physical altercation".
"We'd person a amended accidental [at an Olympics medal] if she was a portion of it, obviously," Anstey told SEN's The Captain's Run.
"At her best, Liz Cambage is 1 of the champion mates of hoops players successful the world.
"At her worst, she's unbearable to beryllium astir arsenic a teammate.
"You benignant of transverse your fingers and anticipation a small spot with Liz.
"Clearly being successful Vegas and being successful COVID protocol hasn't suited her personally.
"It's disappointing that they can't enactment successful the bubble for a abbreviated play of clip due to the fact that it truly tin interaction each their teammates, and I accidental america arsenic a hoops nationalist backmost home."
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