Out of the blue

The results of the physicians licensure examination resulted in more questions than answers. Who passed was easy to tell, but who topped? Name withheld. Accordingly, the first placer was still verified. Must be the name, a proxy taker was nabbed while taking licensure exams for teachers. Of all professions. Teachers cheat their way to teach? This is how low the country has sunk, integrity a rarity, impunity the majority.

Not the name, it turned out, but how high the score was. Almost perfect. Red flag. Must be intended to ensure integrity of the examinations, hence the name was withheld, a term dreaded by taxpayers, especially those who earn pure compensation whose tax is withheld from source. Pay up, by force of circumstance, as opposed to other sources of income, especially business, where tax avoidance sanitizes tax evasion.

Hopefully, the doubt was neither because of who topped, it was his third attempt, nor the university he graduated from, it is lesser known than the usually dominant medical schools.

For, when Chinese female middle distance runners dominated the worlds before the turn of the century, they were easily suspected of drug use. China may be a sports superpower, but not exactly in running. Exactly why the west called it uncanny speed, although the unorthodox coach owed their superior speed to a worm elixir he concocted.

But when Nadia Comaneci scored the first ever perfect ten in Olympic gymnastics 50 years ago, the world celebrated in awe and disbelief. In a good way, no one suspected biased scoring, her artistry spoke for itself in the uneven bars. Too, her country’s reputation preceded her. Romania was a gymnastics powerhouse for decades until it declined, only to rise elsewhere. Simona Halep resurrected her country in the tennis court, albeit briefly due to a doping ban she did not recover from.

Nadia was born in the right country, the Chinese women were not. For, when a country suddenly excels in a sport it is not known for, suspicion follows. Or better yet, envy. Either way or both, integrity is the key to open the door to immortality, especially now for the new doctor. He however was forced to pay the price for something he did not owe. He must have cried, his name is nowhere to be found. Only to appear as topnotcher later. He laughed and cried. Fate played with his emotions, at least not with demotion. Curiously though, would it have been more prudent if the list of passers and placers were all deferred until the topnotcher is verified?