Sportsmanship is traditional value in sports and competition. It means playing clean and handling both victory and defeat with grace, style, and dignity.
Sportsmanship is generally understood to include
The ideal of sportsmanship argues that "it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, but how you play the game".
Sportsmanship can be different depending on the game itself or the culture of the group. For example, in the sport of cricket, a player will sometimes acknowledge that he is out by walking off the field, even though the umpires (game officials) had thought that he was not out. In another example, a tennis player who sees a ball go in but is called out by the linesperson could concede the point or suggest the opponent make a challenge, as was the case with professional tennis player Jack Sock on at least two occasions.
In the context of the Olympic Games, athletes are expected to do their best. Otherwise, they would go against the Olympic motto of "Faster, Higher, Stronger".
In the London Olympics, some athletes attempted to lose their badminton matches, including