When, a month ago, Kristian Karlsson was forced to break the semi-final at the table tennis European Championship in Munich, great scenes unfolded.
The Swede cried as he hugged his opponent as well as friend Darko Jorgic and his coach after the aborted semi.
Karlsson was then greeted by hundreds of warm messages and greetings on his social media accounts.
- It turned out to be a good thing in the bad.
You have to take the good with the bad, they say, there was enormous support from the Swedish people.
And it was a cool experience in that way.
I take that with me, it probably helped to heal a little faster too, says Kristian Karlsson to SVT Sport.
The 31-year-old Swede, who is also the reigning world champion and European champion in doubles, has begun his journey back.
The wound has healed, and he has been training and making his debut for his French club Hennebont.
Today, he and the rest of the Swedish table tennis national team travel to the team WC in Chengdu, which will be decided between September 30 and October 9.