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Players' Chief Wants More Action on 'Match-Fixing'
More should be done to combat match-fixing in badminton, the head of the Players Federation said in an article in Denmark's Play The Game website.
| Bobby Milroy, president of the Badminton Players Federation, said the admission earlier this year of Chinese coach Li Yongbo that they had arranged the result of an Athens Olympic match should be taken seriously. Prompted by Li's statement, world governing body the Badminton World Federation (BWF) formed an Ethics Committee. However, Milroy wants more. "Not enough action has been taken," Milroy, President of Badminton Players Federation was quoted as saying. "In such a case where Li Yongbo feels it appropriate to boast about match-fixing, the BWF should do whatever it takes to ensure his immediate dismissal. "My recommendation at the time was to ban Chinese players from all competitions, including the Olympics, until such time as Li Yongbo was fired." Li said that the Athens Olympics women's singles semi-final between Zhou Mi and Zhang Ning was arranged to make the latter win. The Chinese coaches felt Zhang had a better chance of winning gold, which she did. This was the first time that a high-ranking member of the Chinese coaching staff had admitted what everybody else suspected. At the Asian Championships in April, China's world number one Lin Dan was easily beaten by his compatriot Chen Jun in the semi-final. Chen had to win the match to secure a world-ranking of four and guarantee a place in the Olympics. Lin denied he had thrown the match. However, it is highly unlikely if BWF would consider banning the Chinese team. The match-fixing affecting badminton is not due to third parties gambling on the sport but "team orders", very much like Formula One racing. However, many players are unhappy with the situation. Given the depth of players China possesses, they are in a position to arrange results in almost any tournament, sometimes at the expense of players from other countries. Li said there was no shame in the Chinese team's action but rather it was patriotic. However, Canada's Anna Rice, the world number 30, doesn't agree. "Apparently Chinese coaches have publicly admitted fixing matches for years, and to the Chinese it is regarded to be an act of patriotism to make the best win," she was quoted as saying. "In Asia there seem to be widespread knowledge about the fixing of matches, apparently without this being a matter of major concern within the national federations." |
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