Mark Inglis was a hero a couple of days back. He was getting praise from every one.

Now, he is facing severe criticism from a lot of people for leaving David Sharp to die. Edmund Hillary has been severe and said that he would never do such a thing. Some bloggers speaking on the issue - People blogging on the talking point - Vent, Saakshi Juneja, Chris Brazendale and Aparna Ray.

Inglis has tried to avoid the blame saying it was expedition leader Russell Brice’s decision. While it is true that Inglis should not get all the blame for the incident (there were 40 people out there and an Inglis should not be made target), he cannot avoid the spotlight because of his achievement. So Inglis gets picked on most. Also, he loses out the most as the sheen over his accomplishment is lost. Years of hardwork get washed in two days thus.

The difficult questions which should be asked - would any other present day climber react differently in a similar situation and go against the team? Would such a decision make sense at all as it would mean being in a life threatening situation for the climber who does decide to isolate from the team? So should individual team members be blamed for not risking their lives and possibly commiting suicide in standing alone? Who should actually be blamed - the team captain or each member?

No sporting glory is more valuable than saving a human life. Risking lives happens while pursuing sporting glory but that is obviously different. From the way I look at it - the mission should have been aborted, no matter how much effort had gone into it and try to save a life if even the bleakest chance for it existed.