Wednesday August 1, 2012
BEIJING: A Chinese newspaper apologised yesterday for attacking one of the country’s young Olympic weightlifters for her performance at the London Games.
Zhou Jun failed to lift the starting weight in the 53kg category on Saturday, prompting The Metropolis Times in the south-west city of Kunming to label it “the most shameful defeat for Chinese female weightlifters”.
The paper, scorned by readers and commentators, issued an apology and said it lost sight of the Olympic spirit and was aware Zhou Jun, 17, was “only a child”.
“You made it to the stage, you gave it your best and you are already our hero,” it said. — Reuters