News analysis: Behind Sun Yiwen's "misjudgment".
The fencing event of the Paris Olympics ushered in its first competition day on the 27th. Reigning women's epee champion Sun Yiwen of China lost by one point against Japan's Miho Yoshimura and missed out on the round of 16. After the game, "Sun Yiwen was misjudged" quickly appeared on the hot search and caused heated discussions on social media. What really happened during the game? Why is such a penalty controversial?
In this match, Sun Yiwen and Miho Yoshimura were tied at 13 at the end of regular time, and they will be decided by "duel sword" in one minute. Counting down to 48 seconds, Miho Yoshimura stabbed the lights on. After watching the video replay, the referee ruled that Miho Yoshimura scored, and the score was fixed at 14:13.
On July 27, Sun Yiwen (left) communicates with the referee during the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Hongxiang
At this time, Sun Yiwen's expression on the field was very confused, and after many exchanges with the referee, the verdict remained unchanged.
"I don't think the last sword opponent stabbed me." In an interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters after the game, Sun Yiwen said that the opponent stabbed herself and turned on the light. Sun Yiwen also revealed that the coach of the United States team comforted her immediately after the game, believing that the last sword definitely did not pierce her.
According to the latest technical rules of the International Fencing Federation, the referee must use a video replay when deciding a "duel sword". Once the referee and the video referee have analyzed and made a decision, the decision is considered final, and the athlete cannot further ask the referee to review the video or even change the decision for the same action.
Sun Yiwen (left) and Miho Yoshimura in a match on July 27. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fei Maohua
According to the rules, an athlete cannot appeal a referee's decision on a factual decision, which includes, but is not limited to, the referee's decision on the situation that occurred on the playing field, such as the validity or priority of the hit, whether it left the sideline or baseline, and the category 3 (disrupting the competition) or category 4 (doping) violations. If an athlete violates this principle and challenges the referee's factual decision during the match, he or she will be punished in accordance with the technical rules of the FIF.
In other words, Sun Yiwen cannot change the current situation after the referee has watched the video and made a verdict.
According to Sun Yiwen's description, why can the referee still turn on when the opponent does not stab Sun Yiwen? This has to do with the characteristics of the epee event. The effective part of the epee is the whole body, as long as the pressure of the tip of the sword reaches 750 grams, and the referee will light up if it stabs any part of the body, even the floor. Theoretically, Miho Yoshimura stabbed herself and turned on the lamp, which could indeed happen.
As a hand-to-hand event, the decision of fencing matches has caused controversy from time to time. How to further improve the relevant technical rules and create a fairer competition environment may be a problem that the International Fencing Federation needs to think about.
Screenshot of Sun Yiwen's social media.
Sun Yiwen, who won the individual competition, wrote on social media: "Thank you for your concern. The arena has long taught me how to face winning and losing, and accept everything. For me, fencing is not only about achieving glory, but also about setting a good example for children who practice fencing and sports, telling everyone that they are not afraid of difficulties, not afraid of failure, always moving forward, always brave, and always striving for love. There is also the women's heavy team competition, and I will continue to give it my all. Chinese fencing, come on! Chinese delegation, come on! ”
On the 30th, Sun Yiwen and teammates Yu Sihan, Tang Junyao, and Xu promised to compete in the women's heavy team competition.
Source: Xinhuanet