EJ Obiena defends Alex Eala from criticisms over recent losses: 'Pick us up when we're down'
Everyone goes through a rough patch, and EJ Obiena is reminding critics that Alex Eala is no exception.
The Filipino pole vaulter took to his social media to share a lengthy message defending Eala amid criticism of the tennis star's recent losses in WTA tournaments.
"In any sport, the chances of you having a bad competition, a streak of losses, or even a bad season are practically guaranteed at some point. Perfection can be an objective; yet [it] is never achieved," he said.
"Only a few legends can claim to have won it all, and even they lose more than they win. The statistics would make it clear as day," he added.
Obiena cited tennis legend Novak Djokovic as an example, noting that while he has a staggering 102 titles, including 24 Grand Slams, he has still lost 240 matches, with "some of them even in succession."
Obiena then stressed that every athlete faces a losing streak or a difficult season sooner or later.
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"We may be treated as 'Gods' of some sort. But we are not. We are human. And like all humans, we have good days and bad days," he said.
He continued, "Everyone reading this is the same. You have a good day. And sometimes you have bad days where everything goes wrong. You go to your job, you have a horrible meeting, or a project goes awry. Are you fired? No. Because we all have bad days. This is called life and being human."
Obiena underscored that "failure is not synonymous with losing" as he pointed out to Eala's circumstance.
"Asking if Alex's string of losses suggests she has failed is the wrong question (or for any national athlete, for that matter, yours truly included). There is no such thing as failure in attempting, and in sports, there are good days and bad days, and some days you win and some days you lose, which is what gives sport its beauty and toughness," he emphasized.
"If you want to help Alex, me, or any athlete, pick us up when we are down. Harsh comments are not the support that helps us return stronger," he added.
He implored others to ask themselves: "How do I want to be supported when I have a bad day?"
"Then act accordingly. Some days we win. Some days we lose," Obiena said.
His message comes as Eala faces foul comments over her recent setbacks, which began at the Singapore Tennis Open in September, where she fell to Russia's Tatiana Prozorova in the Round of 16.
Her struggles continued at the Wuhan Open in October, where she suffered a defeat to China's Han Shi in the opening round. She and Turkish partner Zeynep Sonmez also exited the doubles competition after losing to Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina and Dayana Yastremska.
However, Eala maintained in a press conference that she has no misgivings about her losses.
"At the end of the day, being a professional tennis player and a competitive tennis player, losing is part of the job and losing is always a possibility," she said.
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