On December 13, Beijing time, Nigeria's Opejoli, who was eliminated in the first round of the men's singles of the 2021 World Badminton Championships, was interviewed by the World Badminton Federation, mentioning the state of mind when he once fell behind with a big score of 0-20, so that the "first brother" Shi Yuqi of the national feather was helpless and lying on the gun, what is the matter?
Opeyoli is currently ranked only 127th in the world, and his opponent in the first round of the World Championships is Japanese player Kenki Watanabe. The difference in strength between the two players was obvious, and the suspense of the game was lost early, and Watanabe Even took a 20-0 lead at one point in the second set. With one point left in the game just to end, Opeyoli requested a medical timeout. This interval refocused the eyes of the audience and the media on the ball, on the one hand, everyone wanted to see if they could play a 21-0 score, on the other hand, they also wanted to see if Opejoli would retire from the game. After receiving simple treatment, Opejoli took the initiative to attack, and Watanabe Also shoved a point, and the score was finally fixed at 21-1, without retiring or "shaving his head".
The story was supposed to stop at this moment, but it was revived by Opejoli's post-match interview. Asked if he had ever thought about retiring when he was 0-20 behind, Opejoli flatly said he hadn't thought about it, saying: "I don't think the points are the most important, the important thing is to finish the game. My men's doubles partner (who is also his fieldside coach) told me that 20-0 and 20-20 are the same for both of us and that anyone could win the next point. I never wanted to retire 0-20, I just wanted to get back on the pitch and take advantage of the chance to win points. I know that as long as I keep trying, I can always succeed once. ”
Opejoli's speech was considered by fans to be "connotation" of China's Shi Yuqi, who chose to retire 5-20 in the Thomas Cup semi-final against Japan's Kento Momota, and made controversial remarks after the game. After that, Shi Yuqi "lay down the gun" from time to time because of this, and now even the nameless pawns outside the world ranking hundred seem to be "connotating" him, making the fans sigh.