MALAYSIA’s top doubles pair of Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik has crashed out of the Indonesia Open yesterday (June 18) after a straight set defeat to unheralded Chinese pair of Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi (Chn) by 18-21, 13-21 but their heroics in the quarterfinal stage on Friday (June 17) will be long remembered.
The ’heroic’ in their performance is not about fighting back at the brink of death at 17-20 to eventually sealed the rubber game at 22-20 but their display of maturity-cum-sportsmanship of the highest degree.
Their Indonesian opponents Pramudya Kusumawardana/Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan of Indonesia were already one foot in the semis when Rambitan injured his left knee in the decider.
With only one point separating the Indonesian pair from victory, Rambitan who was limping and could hardly stand up should also be respected for his fighting spirit by wanting to fight all the way.
The manner in which Chia gestured to the match umpire – not once but twice or thrice – every time Rambitan collapsed as the Malaysian pair fought their way back to tie the decider at 20-20 was remarkable.
With Rambitan having sustained an injury that even the medical officer on duty was unable to treat, Chia/Soh then chose to re-direct their attack towards Kusumawardana at the backcourt instead of targeting Rambitan who could hardly stand near the net.
“Although we want to win, we did not want to take advantage of his injury by flick-serving Rambitan,” admitted Chia soon after.
Chia also gave credit to the Indonesian pair for playing a brilliant match until the unfortunate event happened to Rambitan.
“To be frank, if not for the knee injury, they should have won today’s match. I hope a speedy recovery for Rambitan,” added Chia.
Such display of sportsmanship has earned praises from many Indonesian badminton fans.
“Extreme respect to the Malaysian pair for not taking advantage of their injured opponents. They only directed the shuttle to the back (for Kusumawardana). This is a top class sportsmanship,” netizen Aril pointed out in a YouTube commentary.
If such display of sportsmanship attitude can be extended to every aspect of life, the world will surely be a more peaceful place to live in. – June 19, 2022
