Badminton silver medallist He Bingjiao may not have wowed anyone with her performance in the women’s singles final on Monday, but she won the hearts of millions with a fine display of sportsmanship as she stood on the podium.
With a silver medal around her neck, the Chinese world No 9 held a small badge of the Spanish flag, paying homage to her semi-final opponent Carolina Marin.
On Sunday, Marin was one game up and leading the second 10-8 when she suffered an injury to her right knee, forcing her to retire and leave Paris empty-handed.
The Rio 2016 singles champion was in tears as her coach helped carry her off. He, who progressed to the final because of the injury, ran over and hugged her opponent before she left court one in the La Chappelle Arena.
In the gold medal match, He was convincingly beaten by world No 1 An Se-young from South Korea 21-13, 21-16, but held the Spanish flag because she was still “heartbroken” by what happened to Marin.
“I wore the Spanish badge on the podium because yesterday’s semi-final opponent was unfortunately injured. I am very heartbroken,” He said. “I hope she can see this scene and I wish her a speedy recovery.”
Her comments were viewed more than 14 million times on Weibo with many praising her actions.
“I literally cried my heart out, such a kind, sincere and considerate woman,” one comment said.
“What a kind person. Congratulations to Jiaojiao for winning the silver medal. It’s great. Who can stop An Se-young?” another said.
“We Chinese people really implement the principle of friendship first, competition second,” one user added.
However, her actions did not go down well with all, as some social media users implied she should put her emotions aside.
“Focus on the game, you don’t have to do these things,” one user said.
“This type of competition attitude [leads to] problems on the court,” another user replied.
Following Sunday’s semi-final, He said she felt “very sad” about what happened.
“She [Marin] was playing perfectly well and I was very passive,” He said. “I wasn’t thinking about the final at all.”
Join our sports quiz this Friday to win flights, staycation packages, dining vouchers and much more. Learn more: sc.mp/sports-quizncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kwLG70a1mqZminsBuu8uypKmhk6h6c3yRbWacoJmjrnCt0a2gnKSVZIBzg5JsZ29nk522r63SZp%2BeZaCnrqq%2FxJ1koaecmbavs4ysp5qmmai1brLLmp5mp5yuurG1wmanqJyZqrputc2jrKudlGK8sbzOp5ynrKNitbC6zq6p