The Olympic community has rallied around Chinese gymnast Su Weide after two falls off the horizontal bar handed the gold medal to Japan.
China looked set for its first gold medal in the competition since 2012 after taking the lead midway through the final.
But the team had to settle for silver when Su, a late replacement, faltered and Japan nailed their comeback with excellent displays on the horizontal bar.
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Su’s teammates left their seats after his first fall, with the second well and truly opening the door for Japan.
“His teammates could barely look,” commentator Steve Robilliard said.
“First contact (with the bar) was with the forearms, he was nowhere near collecting it correctly.”
Co-commentator Liz Chetkovich said: “He’s just completely mistimed, I’m wondering (if it’s) the inexperience perhaps. He’d like to finish strongly.”
Robilliard added: “Your heart goes out to him, really, let’s hope he can.”
Su’s miscues led to deductions and a score of 11.600, and in the end Japan won by the small margin of just 0.532 points.
He received light handshakes first from Japan and then his Chinese teammates as he stepped off the platform.
But those watching on quickly noticed he had been left to sit on his own at the end of the bench.
“The poor Chinese gymnast who fell twice from high bar. His teammates have deserted him,” Commonwealth Games gymnast and BBC presenter Gabby Logan wrote.
“He’s bereft. I can’t bear it. He might have just lost them gold.”
The broadcast repeatedly showed Su sitting on his own — including after Japan’s last routine all but guaranteed they would win the gold medal.
Not everyone was convinced Su was simply abandoned, however.
“He’ll be inconsolable for a while. He wants a little time alone. Fair enough, too,” Robilliard said in the moment.
Indeed, world champion Zhang Boheng stood up repeatedly to look after a teammate four years his senior.
Zhang was the last man up for China, well aware he could not recover gold but all smiles when he made his way to Su after his routine closed the competition.
He offered some words and pats of encouragement then wrapped his arms around his dejected teammate again with a thumbs-up.
Su received another show of support when the official presenting the Paris gift boxes to China held his cheek while he bowed.
Zhang also continued to look out for Su, putting his arm around him multiple times as they left the arena while Japan celebrated.
“It’d be great if we saw Su Weide come back some time soon,” Robilliard said.
Zhang later attempted to step in and speak for Su when he struggled with his emotions during a press conference after the event.
China had dominated qualifying ahead of Japan, the reigning world champions.
Russia won gold in Tokyo three years ago but did not compete after the country was banned from the Olympics.