On Monday (5 Aug), Chinese badminton star, He Bing Jiao, held up the badge of the Spanish flag on the Olympic podium while receiving her silver medal.
This was in tribute to her semi-final opponent, Spain’s Carolina Marin, who was forced to retire after a knee injury.
Source: Xinhua
The Chinese shuttler was heading for an Olympic exit in the semi-finals of the badminton women’s singles when Marin suffered an injury to her right knee.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Spaniard looked to be cruising towards the Gold medal match, having won the first semi-final game 21-14 and leading the second one 10-8 when the injury occurred.
Source: AFP on NDTV
The world no. 4 broke down in tears when her Olympic gold hopes were dashed after her injury, which was later diagnosed to be a serious one according to reports from the Olympics.
Source: AFP on 20minutos
He, who automatically progressed to the finals because of Marin’s injury, ran towards her opponent and hugged her at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena.
He also revealed that despite how devastated she was after withdrawing from the competition due to the injury, Marin still cheered her on and told her to play well in the final.
“I wore the Spanish badge on the podium because yesterday’s semi-final opponent was unfortunately injured. I am very heartbroken,” He told reporters after clinching the silver medal, losing out to world no. 1, An Se-young from South Korea.
“I hope she can see this scene and I wish her a speedy recovery.”
He’s homage to her semi-final opponent warmed the hearts of viewers worldwide, who praised He for her fine display of sportsmanship. Her comments garnered over 14 million views on Chinese social media site Weibo.
Many international fans also took to X and Reddit to express their admiration for the Chinese shuttler.
Source: X
Fans also dubbed her the “gold medalist for kindness and sportsmanship”.
Also read: 5 facts about Yusuf Dikec who is the Turkish ‘John Wick’ of the 2024 Olympics
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Featured image adapted from Xinhua.
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