Paris, France — Longing. Heartbreak. Coming so far to come up just short.

Those were the likely emotions felt by Team USA wheelchair rugby when it fell to Great Britain in the finals of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The same could be true for a loss to Australia in the finals in Rio in 2016.

Three/seven years later, those emotions are probably still very prevalent.

The U.S. had to settle for silver in Paris after falling to Japan 48-41 in Monday’s gold medal match.

“Japan has a phenomenal team,” said Sarah Adam, who had 14 tries. “We tried to stick to our game plan and be aggressive, but at the end of the day Japan just outplayed us.”

“Japan’s depth really showed through,” explained Chuck Aoki, Team USA Captain. “We maybe don’t have quite the depth that they do, that’s really what showed.”

Much like Sunday’s semifinal against Great Britain, Team USA had zero offensive blemishes in the first quarter. The U.S. got the ball first and scored, and did so again on its 13 ensuing possessions in the frame. Combine that with two turnovers from Japan and time running out, Team USA had a 14-11 lead through eight minutes.

Early in the second quarter, it was clear the Japanese made an adjustment from the first: ramp up the intensity. Five-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter, the deficit was a thing of the past. Japan went on a 9-6 run to knot the game at 20. A minute and a half later, Japanese supporters roared as loud as they had all game when their team took its first lead. That remained the case at the half as the U.S. stared at a slim 24-23 deficit.

In the third quarter, Team USA found itself in the same shoes its opponents found themselves in the first quarters Sunday and Monday: unable to make a key stop. The U.S. forced a Japan turnover on its first time on defense in the third quarter, nabbing a 25-24 lead in the process. The third quarter was all downhill from there. The Japanese offense was unstoppable while the U.S. offense had some preventable turnovers. That led to Japan holding a 35-32 lead with just one quarter to go.

The Japanese remained relentless for the entire fourth quarter. Team USA’s turnover problems continued, and Japan capitalized every time. In totality, the U.S. had nine turnovers, Japan just two. That proved to be the difference. The Japanese outscored Team USA 13-9 in the final frame to finalize the score at 48-41. Japan nabs its first ever gold medal in wheelchair rugby, while the U.S. takes silver for the third consecutive Paralympics.

“Every team here other than Japan would’ve loved to place silver,” remarked Josh Wheeler, who finished with seven tries. “Still holding our heads high, second in the world’s not bad.”

“Obviously, not the result that we necessarily wanted,” reflected Adam. “But, gonna try to enjoy this moment regardless and enjoy this team.”

“My first games, I was 21 years old and felt like a loss was the most devastating thing that could possibly happen in the history of time,” said Aoki. “I feel so bad for the team, everyone worked so hard to get to this level, and we were close, but it just wasn’t enough.”

Yes, much of Team USA is feeling a sense of longing, or heartbroken, or that they came so far but came just short of the ultimate goal. But, there are some optimistic eyes looking towards Los Angeles in 2028.

“Hopefully it helps them get hungry for L.A.,” remarked Aoki. “I don’t plan on stopping, so hopefully we’re just going to keep grinding forward.”