The outcome of a badminton match not only depends on the players on the court but also on the officials who facilitate the game. Jauhari Latif, an Indonesian badminton umpire wishes to convey his apologies to Olympic Champion Carolina Marin.
According to BolaSport, Jauhari wishes to make an apology to Marin for the tragic knee injury which she suffered during the 2019 Indonesia Masters final. Jauhari hopes that someday he could meet Marin and convey an apology personally.
Jauhari recounted his activities leading up to the match.
“When I was brushing my teeth, I slightly bent down towards the sink and suddenly coughed loudly. I don’t know why the cough shaking is pulling the waist muscles, “Jauhari said. After that, he could not stand up straight and could only walk by bending down due to extreme pain.
He panicked and immediately contacted a doctor who referred him to a physiotherapist. He was fitted with various physiotherapy tools for about 40 minutes. After this, his condition was much better and Jauhari felt he was ready to officiate in the finals.
Before the match started, he made a small prayer, “O God, I have a backache. Please make the matches short.”
Jauhari entered Istora Senayan stadium with pain around his hips to officiate the women’s singles final between Marin and Saina Nehwal. Unexpectedly the game finished in 10 short minutes. Carolina Marin suffered a serious knee injury and had to withdraw from the match.
Feelings of guilt took over Jauhari because of the small prayer he made.
“I feel guilty for Carolina Marin’s injury”, he poured out his feelings some time ago on his personal Instagram account.
During the 2020 Indonesia Masters, Jauhari luckily met a film crew from Spain who was making a documentary on Marin’s injury. He slipped in a special apology in the film recording towards Marin.