China’s He praised for holding Spanish flag on Olympic podium in injured opponent’s honour
- He Bingjiao took silver in the badminton women’s singles final, but was lucky to even be there after Spain’s Carolina Marin dropped out
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.”
