Owning up to one's imperfections and accepting defeat is not only commendable, but also a sign of maturity.
Showing the characteristics of a true champion, Lee Zii Jia took his Tokyo Olympics round of 16 defeat in his stride and has vowed to come back stronger.
On Thursday, the All England champion fell short in his bid for Olympic glory after losing 8-21, 21-19, 21-5 to China's Chen Long in the men's singles at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza.
"I had hoped to provide some motivation to all Malaysians, especially during this pandemic but it didn't end so well. I'm sorry for letting everyone down.
"The expectation was for me to go far after winning the All England and I accept the pressure and challenge, but this is only the start of my long journey," said Zii Jia on social media.
The 23-year-old also thanked his coaches, Hendrawan and Tey Seu Bock, as well as the National Sports Institute support team, reiterating that no one is to be blamed for his defeat.
"No one is to be blamed. I am the one holding the racquet and I'm the one taking to court.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't carry the Malaysian flag until the end.
"I will get back to my routine, review my mistakes, correct my imperfections and train harder.
"I will give my best to come back stronger," added Zii Jia, who is expected to compete at the 2024 Paris Games.
For now, the Kedah-born must shift his focus to the remaining tournaments this year, which include the 2021 Sudirman Cup (Sept 26-Oct 3) in Finland, the delayed Thomas and Uber Cup Finals (Oct 9-17) in Denmark, the World Tour Finals (Dec 1-5) in Bali and the World Championships (Dec 12-19) in Huelva, Spain.