First of all, you must know the nature and degree of the injury. If it is severe enough, even if she wants to fight on, she won't be able to, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I recall Wang Xin's case, it was the Olympic bronze medal playoff, worth fighting her guts out for it, but after medical attention during the break, she went back to court, played and won one point in the 2nd set and that's it for her, game over - she had to undergo surgery and her career was ended for good after an unsuccessful comeback attempt from a year of injury layoff, she was never the same again. Such a pity. Also, remember Lee CW's leg cramp last year at the Guangzhou WC? He bravely tried to carry on after receiving medical attention, not once but twice, in the end to no avail. I'm sure if he could continue the match he certainly would even if it meant breaking his leg to win the elusive world championship. Another example is Xu Chen, not to do with injury but sickness, gastritis to be exact , for which he was hospitalised during the HK Open SS last year and he had to shuttle between the tournament venue and the hospital for treatment the following days, went on the drip as reported, but he still persevered to the end of the SS event and, fortunately, won the title on finals day, iirc. Li Yongbo praised him for it and even held him up as an example for the CHN Team to emulate. And then we've players like Tai TY who is plagued by mostly minor injuries, not to mention sickness such as catching the cold, for which she would suddenly withdraw or retire from matches/tournaments mid-way or prior. I could cite further examples, each with its individual circumstances and outcomes, notably Wang Lin (three ACL injuries), Bao Chunlai (nagging knee problem), Chen Jin (various ailments), etc, all of whom were eventually compelled to retire prematurely. Some players tend to be more careful, some more gung-ho; whatever it is, they should never be allowed to act recklessly and foolishly but err on the side of caution as far as injury is concerned whether to proceed with the match after feeling a discomfort. Even a mild problem if not properly handled can be career threatening as history has shown. Most importantly, the crux of the matter is not to apportion praise or blame or find excuses for the players concerned but, uppermost, for the professional athletes to take good care of their health and safety as well as take into consideration the long term view of their career, sensibly and wisely. Like I've said, it's all right to lose a battle but win the war, not the other way round. Taking unnecessary risks of aggravating the injury however slight should never be encouraged for, ultimately, the player is not only responsible to himself/herself but also to the nation that groom, nurture and support him/her. We all admire players who exhibit a never-say-die attitude with amazing fighting spirit but not at the risk of aggravating the injury however slight it may appear to be at first. Trying to act tough and showing bravado is a far cry from genuine courage. Nonetheless, if a player wishes to take calculated risks and knows his/her limit, he/she may give it a try but act with caution.
The main point here is not to give excuses when a player chooses to play, even defeating many good players along the way but succumb in the end during the final to a better player.
Excuses based on facts are valid, esp when we know what happened and whether a player is performing up to par or affected by circumstances beyond his control. Who don't give excuses or explanations when they are justified? Coaches do, players do, officials do, trainers do? What's wrong with that? The main point is to be honest with yourself, know why you underperformed and what should be done about it, whether it's due to injury, sickness, fatigue, mental weakness or inferior tactics, whatever. Be objective in analysis, no need to feel sore about it, learn from it where there are lessons to be drawn and work hard to improve yourself. It's only when you are in denial and refuse to come to terms with the hard truth that you've no excuses for playing below par - that is the real problem and you are doing yourself a disservice.
A win is a win. The cup, medal or paycheque usually doesn't have any space for engraving the loser's excuse... LOL!
Excuses that are poor or lame not only reflect badly on the person concerned, it benefits no-one, least of all the one who lets himself down. Didn't somebody revealed that Srikanth was slightly injured at the beginning of the 3rd set with Chen Long, hence the low digit score ? I'm sure Chen Long who comes to know of it will tell himself that he didn't actually overwhelm Srikanth by his superior skills but it was due to his opponent's injury problem. So Chen Long had better work harder on improving his game with Srikanth next time.
True, as far as the result is concerned, no dispute about that, the world at large doesn't care. But for the players concerned, both winner and loser, they know and it matters because they being professionals want to know how good they really are, where their strengths and weaknesses lie, and the areas for improvement. I'm sure , for the respective coaches too as it helps their job. I believe some top exponents and experts are interested to know what really happened as well.
To add, giving excuses when justified and valid is not the same as denying the defeat or putting the opponent down, rather it's an explanation for what happened and why which may be subject to debate depending on the level of evidence and depth of analysis.
Yes, like Lin Dan who always gives his best that is why he is the most successful player of all time.
Tee JY has good fighting spirit and once again she proved it yesterday. Title-holder MAS will eye semifinal spot with two remaining matches, against PHI and SIN team.
Of course. LD plays to win although sometimes he is not in the right mood. He needs no excuses when he loses. In the match against SK, which he lost, he admitted to not having adequate preparation against the well prepared and very focused SK. A true sportsman who accepted defeat sportingly as the current world's best badminton player and he requires no excuse even from his most ardent fans.
Vietnam is still very much a one-man show in Nguyen Tien Minh, but at least now in WS they have an up-and-comer in Vu Thi Trang.
Fanetri retired injured to Kirsty, after winning the 1st but losing the 2nd set, 21-18, 18-21. I suspect Fanetri must be carrying an injury from the Macau Open last week in her match with Sindhu when she was holding a hefty lead, 16-6 at one point, before losing it in the decider. Take care and wish her speedy recovery.
Danny Bawa Chrisnanta lost both the XD with Vanessa and MD with Chayut to the Asia All-Stars Team. Not surprising to me, he could be tired, and perhaps a little heady, after the Sunday MD victory at Macau Open where he also competed in the XD Final.
How was Danny's serve? His serve prevented him from winning the XD final, and made it more difficult than necessary to win the MD final.
Post-match interview of Ratchanok after her match against Liang of Singapore. [video=youtube;wRdxX6YCpHs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRdxX6YCpHs&list=UUDAuOy4b-CEoWDZUvYY5F1A[/video]
INA team fields their second stringers against THA team, let's see the overall outcome of this tie with Thai team will lead 2-0 through Boonsak and Intanon.
2014 WJC bronze medalist Anthony Ginting scored first point for INA, def. Boonsak Ponsana, 9-21 / 21-10 / 21-10, nice job!
Upset of the day, Anthony was like 200 something in the world rank while Bonsaak is world #17. Good job Anthony!
Anthony Ginting beating Boonsak Ponsana is impressive, the lad is a player to watch, INA's future star. Another shocker, even more so, is Hu Yun losing to the unknown PHI Antonino Gadi, 15-21, 20-22 !
