Every sports fan wants their favorite home athlete to win, but there is only one gold for each event.

That is the reality and attraction of sports competition.

The most enthusiastic cheers and applause usually go to the one who stands highest on the podium. Those who are second or third often receive little applause, never mind those who don't make it to the podium. But I don't believe a country is a real or mature sporting power if it neglects those who miss out on gold.

I formed this opinion watching a CCTV talk show which featured the four Chinese saber girls who were narrowly beaten by Ukraine 44-45 in the team final just about two hours before the program on Thursday in Beijing.

What the host said at the beginning of the show grabbed me: "I had worried that you would not come to talk to the audience after I knew you lost. But here you all are now! So you are really graceful losers!"

(L-R) China's saber fencers Ni Hong, Bao Yingying and Tan Xue

Actually I understood why the host said that. Many Chinese audience had been hopeful about winning but the result was otherwise – we lost by a small margin.

The girls gave their sweetest smiles, shared their personal stories and gave the audience an insight into their performance – just two hours after their breath-taking loss. The audience responded with hoorays and cheered them as if they were winners.

Du Li of China reacts during the final round of the women's 10m air rifle event of the shooting competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 9, 2008. [Agencies]

This reminded me of another Chinese "loser" Du Li. Her countrymen pinned their hopes on her to defend her 10m air rifle title and win the Games' first gold. But when she only finished sixth, she couldn't help crying before a CCTV camera, saying she felt sorry for letting everyone down.

But after just five days, she walked from hell to heaven with a gold medal in the 50m rifle contest. She cried again, this time, with joy.

Five days from zero to hero? I learnt from a short film aired after Du Li's interview at the shooting range that she was kept undisturbed after the first gold attempt by resting in her training range rather than the athletes' village.

The media and netizens were also tolerant.

"Don't be afraid of failure so long as you tried your best. Heroes are not necessarily the winners and those who fail to pick up medals also deserve respect. You are just unlucky," said a netizen nicknamed yyh_570 on the portal website of Sina.

"Girl, don't cry. Your tender shoulders have born too much expectation. We will love you always. We love your bright smile," followed another from Shanghai.

I believe understanding and persistent support were the lucky stars for Du Li. She would go through further hell if people doubted her ability after just one failure.

So why not offer the same support to the smiling saber girls? Although they have to wait for the next Games, they have already boasted the strength to win gold. The most important thing is they had forgotten the past by happily appearing on the TV show before home viewers.

There were other silvers. The scene of Zhu Qinan weeping on the silver podium comes to mind. Again, it was expected that the shooting prodigy would retain his 2004 Olympics glory in the men’s 10m air rifle, but he was narrowly defeated.

Silver winner Zhu Qinan of China wipes his tears as he celebrates on the podium following the men's 10m air rifle shooting finals for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the Beijing Shooting Hall on August 11, 2008. [Agencies]

I could deeply feel the pain of Zhu. A one-point gap denied him his crown before his home crowd. Pressure had been tremendous for the defending champion as he said his mind went blank during the competition.

To Zhu, fans were also sympathetic. However, in the case of Zhu and Du, a more relaxed atmosphere before the big events would have helped more than understanding and comfort afterwards.

Du Li paid back supporting fans with a late gold. She might have won the other gold if we had treated her as we did after she failed.

Silver is not the best, but it is won by similar efforts needed to win gold. It deserves our similar respect: to cherish hope in a possible gold one day and to tolerate accidental failure.

A real sports power, I believe, should embody sportsmanship both in the aspects of athletes and spectators: to hold on, when both winning and losing.

Let's bear in our heart our silver medalists from the last six days:

Zhu Qinan: men's 10m air rifle

Zhang Lin: men's 400m freestyle

Jiao Liuyang: women's 200m butterfly

Women's swimming team: women's 4X200m freestyle relay

Li Hongli: men's 77kg weightlifting

Women's archery team: team archery

Women's saber team: team saber

To contact the writer: guanxm@chinadaily.com.cn