New Delhi: Normally, if you’ve just beaten one of the best, if not the very best, players of your generation, that too at a stage like the Olympics, you’d be elated, celebrating with your team.

Instead, Ratchanok Intanon crossed the net, shook hands before hugging a wailing Tai Tzu Ying before breaking down herself.

It was a delicate moment which touched the 8,000-strong crowd seated at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris that rose to applaud the Thai’s sporting gesture and give the Chinese Taipei great a standing ovation as she walked off the stadium, having just played her last match at the Olympics.

“We knew it was our last match because she will retire after this, so it disturbed my feeling. I must do it (win) this time because I don’t know about the next four years, whether I can play the next Olympics,” said an emotional Ratchanok, who in Tokyo had lost to Tai Tzu in the quarter-finals.

“We will miss each other. We have the same style, when we play it’s like facing the mirror. At the end of the match, I told her I was happy we got in together, and I hope she will get better day after day. She wished me good luck.”

‘Queen Tai’, as she is fondly called by her fans, had already announced that 2024 would be her final season with the Paris Games her fourth and final attempt at winning an elusive gold. The 30-year-old came close the last time around in Tokyo, losing a close final to China’s Chen Yufei.

Paris was going to be her last major tournament. Such is her repertoire that despite returning from a knee injury, expectations were high from the Taiwanese who wanted to get one last shot at stepping on to the top of the podium in Paris on Monday. Instead, the 30-year-old left the arena bawling her eyes out.

“I’ve been playing with Ratchanok for a long time, and our game is also similar, and she has also struggled with injury,” said a sobbing Tai Tzu in the mixed zone on Wednesday.

“I wasn’t ready for this event before I came here. I knew I wasn’t in the best condition, but I tried my best. I know many people are cheering for me, but I know I’m not well.”

It is quite an anomaly for a player as great and skilful as Tai Tzu to not win a major gold in her entire career. A towering player of her generation, Tai Tzu was world No.1 for 214 weeks, the longest in Badminton World Federation (BWF) history, which included 72 successive weeks.

Champion of the year-end BWF World Tour Finals a record four times (2014, 2016, 2020, 2023), Tai Tzu also won the All England Open (2018, 2019, 2020) and the Asian Championships (2017, 2018, 2023) thrice. However, the Taiwanese never managed to win the Olympics or World Championships.

The closest she came was at 2021 Tokyo when she settled for silver. A few months later, she again lost a big final, at the 2021 World Championships to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in Huelva, Spain.

This was despite the arsenal she possessed, the artistry she displayed through the years that made her impossible to play for her top rivals at times. Ask Saina Nehwal, who has a 5-15 record against Tai Tzu, having lost the last 13 times. Ask PV Sindhu, who is 5-19 head-to-head against the world No.3, having gone down the last nine times.

“In Tai Tzu, you have a phenomenally good player who has a wide range of shots. Her speed along with her mental strength makes her quite a formidable opponent,” India’s chief national coach Pullela Gopichand had said in an interview. “Tai has the game to pull through from seemingly difficult situations at any level. Perhaps this is what separates her from the rest of the crowd.”

Tai Tzu’s case is reminiscent of Malaysian great Lee Chong Wei, who played three Olympic and World Championships finals each, losing all. Having lost two successive Olympic finals in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 to arch-rival Lin Dan, Lee finally overcame the Chinese in the semi-finals of Rio 2016, only to lose to Lin’s compatriot Chen Long in the title clash.

It was the same story in World Championships too as Lee lost three finals, in 2011, 2013 and 2015, ending up as one of the all-time greats to have not won a major title.

On Wednesday, Tai Tzu wasn’t able to display her intricacies and inventiveness due to a dodgy knee, for which she also took a medical timeout.

But throughout a career which started in 2009, Tai Tzu stood out with her quick feet, fluid movement and a malleable wrist — her most potent weapon — which made her the most deceptive player of her generation.

Never in a hurry and always playing with tranquility, Tai Tzu had the ability to persistently frustrate opponents by pushing boundaries and come out on top.

Full of poise, elegance and easy shot-making, her guile also meant Tai Tzu could single-handedly fill stadiums.

Those fans will surely miss the generational talent.

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