FEATURE/Superman did show up: Tai Tzu-ying's last Olympic match and the future

By Chao Yen-hsiang, CNA staff writer

After Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) announced 16 months ago her plan to retire at the end of the 2024 season, fans worldwide hoped to see the former world No. 1 conclude her illustrious career with a gold medal at the Paris Games.

However, her last Olympic match on Wednesday did not align with that wish.

Despite her No. 3 ranking, Tai was ousted in the group stage, falling to world No. 25 Ratchanok Intanon in straight games, 21-19, 21-15, after a 44-minute match in which she mostly trailed.

The result did not surprise Tai, who publicly shared her private struggles for the first time.

"I had foreseen that I might not advance, but I'm already satisfied that I could step onto the court because I thought I might not even be able to compete," she said after the match with her friend. "I actually felt the best I have recently."

Given her health issues, Tai suggested that simply being able to compete was a miracle. "Superman did show up, but I didn't make it through."

More serious than expected

It is widely known that the 30-year-old has been plagued by injuries since the second half of 2023, but her fitness issues worsened as the 2024 season progressed.

Before the Olympics, Tai's last appearance was during Taiwan's first game at the BWF Thomas & Uber Finals against Malaysia on April 28, where she outlasted Goh Jin-wei (吳堇溦) 21-19, 22-20 in 33 minutes.

Tai then withdrew from the team tournament and decided not to compete in the Singapore Open, which started on May 28, and the Indonesia Open in early June.

Spectators in Paris would have noticed that Tai wore knee pads on both knees, a rare sight indicating the severity of her injuries.

After Wednesday's loss, Tai revealed that, in addition to her left knee injury, she hurt her right leg and had been unable to walk for several days, even requiring crutches.

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"Everyone around me has been more positive than I have been ... They kept telling me, 'Sure, you can, you can win the championship,' but I knew that might not be possible and it turned out that way, but I'm okay with it because I didn't give up on myself."

Tai expressed gratitude to her team and doctor Lin Yin-chou (林瀛洲) for their unwavering support and treatment, which kept her fighting.

In an Instagram story posted Thursday, she recalled the day she went to the hospital in a wheelchair in tears.

"I wanted to give up so badly, didn't want to fly to [Paris] because I knew I might not achieve an ideal result. But I didn't give up and tried as hard as I could, not resting for even one day," she said.

"I think I would have felt more heartbroken if I had just given up on myself back then."

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Painful victory

For those fans aware of Tai's friendship with Intanon, the tearjerker moment occurred not when she lost but when the two women embraced each other in tears after the match, a scene that reminded everyone of their quarterfinal match in Tokyo three years ago.

Back then, Tai bagged the win in three games in 67 minutes and saw Intanon exit the Games. Three years later, the script was flipped.

"She knew my situation, so she told me she felt sad to defeat me this way," Tai said when explaining what made her cry.

Tai expressed her wish that Intanon will keep winning, as the latter had done to her in the last edition, but admitted that "It's harsh that you get knocked out by your friend, though I did see this happening after the draw."

As Tai Ching-chieh (戴靖潔), a badminton commentator with ELTA TV and Tai's sister, pointed out, the leg injuries made it especially difficult for Tai to defend against shots aimed at her left backcourt, and Intanon was aware of that.

Throughout the match, Intanon noticeably increased her attacks to Tai's left side, especially in Game 2.

Of her total 42 points from two games, at least six were scored with smashes landing in that area. Even when Tai managed to return the smashes, her backhand defensive shots often led to high returns that gave Intanon perfect opportunities to smash to the opposite side of the court.

Intanon, who described her matches with Tai as "facing the mirror," said "I told [Tai] I was happy we got in together, and I hope she will get better day after day. She wished me good luck," as was quoted by BWF.

Tai the superwoman

Since she reached world No. 1 in late 2016, Tai has been the most popular athlete in Taiwan, a country that has long regarded baseball as its national pastime.

Before the Olympics, Tai, with 1.37 million followers on Instagram, was the only Taiwan-born athlete with more than 350,000. As of 3:47 p.m., Thursday that number had surged to nearly 1.44 million.

Unsurprisingly, after the match Taiwanese social media received countless posts expressing sadness about the result and gratitude for Tai's fighting spirit to the end.

Among them was one from President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who touted Tai's never say die spirit.

"Xiao Tai Tai Tzu-ying has always been the token that unites us together," he wrote. "It's a shame that she could not advance ... but the chant of 'Xiao Tai go' and the hug after the match brings Xiao Tai together with us in Taiwan."

Tai's fans may never see her crowned Olympic champion, but for them superwoman did show up.

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