Dejected also-rans absorb loss

PARIS: Parisians folded up their French flags and unfurled their umbrellas against a depressing rain. New Yorkers stood silently on subway platforms as the bad news sank in. Muscovites and Madrid residents expressed their frustration with hoots, whistles and boos. 

Deflated, dejected and downright depressed, citizens of the four cities who lost out to London in yesterday hotly contested battle to host the 2012 Olympics struggled to come to grips with the outcome – and vowed to try again in another four years.