With the Tokyo Olympics concluding today, spectators should leave athletes to reflect on their own and cease offering self-righteous comments.
Since Taiwanese badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) lost to Chinese challenger Chen Yufei (陳雨菲) on Sunday last week, Tai has had to deal with a variety of criticisms, despite having made history by winning silver.
Just a few hours after the match, Tai wrote on Facebook that she somewhat regretted not being able to stand on the highest level of the podium, but that imperfection drives her improvement.
Overnight, amateur badminton commentators mushroomed on social media, even though some of them might have just watched their first badminton game in the past two weeks.
One social media celebrity allegedly familiar with financial affairs wrote on Facebook that she could not fathom why Tai kept sending the shuttlecock outside of the lines, saying her loss was “unacceptable.” After being criticized on social media, the commenter deleted the post and apologized, saying she very much wanted Tai to beat the Chinese player.
A user on Instagram said Tai made too many errors, and even tagged her in the post. In a rare move, Tai replied: “It is not you standing in the badminton court. You can stop watching my game if you think I have too many errors. Thank you.” Tai deleted the comment later, saying she would adapt to different opinions and stop responding to such posts.
No one might be more upset than Tai herself, yet she seemed compelled to respond to public expectations after the loss. Her father and other relatives were also asked by local media to say something about her performance.
More absurdly, Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡), a retired athlete and a former head of the now-defunct Sports Affairs Council, initiated a petition on Facebook calling on the public to encourage Tai to compete for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, badminton players Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟), who won gold in the men’s doubles on July 31, were showered with unprecedented attention, but they have different issues to handle.
Journalists are collecting anecdotes about them and interviewing their acquaintances; businesses are making new products with memes of their final shot falling on the line. One design studio tagged Lee and Wang in a campaign promoting new designs using related memes, but Wang left a message saying they are not endorsing the company and called on the studio not to use their names for marketing.
As Lee and Wang often emphasize they are from Taiwan, their photos have also been used in various reports and opinion pieces that renew the debate on Taiwan’s representation as “Chinese Taipei” at international events.
It is interesting to rewatch Lee and Wang’s first match with the Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on July 24. They had a difficult time and lost. No one could predict they would rebound and win Taiwan’s first gold for men’s doubles in badminton.
Most people see the aura of winning athletes, but few understand how much pain they must endure and what factors affect their performances.
It is time to leave the athletes to rest and reflect. That they received government funding and support does not mean they have to fight on behalf of sovereignty issues. They might like to share bits and pieces of their lives on social media, but they are not politicians or entertainers.
Sustaining a healthy sports environment not only requires equipment and funding; improving the quality of the audience is also needed, online and elsewhere. Those who support these athletes should also respect their profession.
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