Even silver glitters. Chinese athlete Su Yiming won a silver for snowboard slopestyle at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, but his golden virtues showed in his professionalism and modesty, even as on social networking sites his fans unleashed a wave of anger at his being "robbed" of a gold medal.
Although Su scored the medal-winning 88.70 points in his second of three runs, becoming the only competitor to perform a triple cork 1800 in Winter Olympic history, many netizens insist that the judge underscored Su's first ride where he scored just 78.38 despite a "flawless performance".
The controversy erupted after similar sentiments were shared by overseas snowboard experts. A BBC commentator said Su was denied gold over a "glaring judging error".
British expert Ed Leigh pointed out that the gold medalist, Canada's Max Parrot, had grabbed his knee instead of his board during his frontside 1440 in his second run, where he scored 90.96 points overall.
Sebbene molti stessero esprimendo la loro indignazione sui siti di social network cinesi, Su ha dato il suo umile meglio, dicendo che è stato un momento prezioso poter prendere parte alle Olimpiadi invernali nel suo paese d'origine, per poter competere con il suo idolo d'infanzia, e stare con loro sul podio.
Su ha anche spiegato perché non ha ottenuto un punteggio più alto per la sua terza manche, il che dovrebbe essere sufficiente per calmare i sentimenti dell'opinione pubblica.
It is not unusual for a referee's decision to lead to a controversy. However, the public should also note that every game has parameters that ordinary audiences in front of giant screens cannot grasp.
While cheering for their favorite players, ordinary audiences should also respect the referee's decisions and the professionalism of the competition.
The game is still on. Let us take this opportunity to enjoy the performances by the world's leading athletes.
