BWF to monitor suspicious withdrawals

BWF to police withdrawals by players from same country

Published on Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 23:53 | Source : Reuters
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wi...ithdrawals-by-playerssame-country_576648.html

By Dave Thompson

LONDON (Reuters) - Badminton's world governing body is threatening severe penalties for players who cite injury or illness and pull out of matches without good reason when playing someone from their own country.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) made the announcement on Sunday during the world championships at Wembley Arena.

It comes after an executive board meeting heard from a special three man-panel set up last month after speculation about the legitimacy of some withdrawals at recent tournaments.

Concern had been expressed that withdrawals eased the way for countries to improve the rankings of certain players and that spectators were deprived of matches they had paid to see.

Action is to be stepped up with immediate effect. A statement said: "The BWF will for all international tournament levels ensure a focused monitoring process on all matches between players from the same country to eliminate potential speculation.

"If compelling evidence is found of any irregularities the matter will be treated with the utmost gravity by the BWF and severe penalties will be imposed."

BWF chief operating officer Thomas Lund told a media conference: "It's an area we take very seriously and it's an area that will be monitored especially during the Olympic qualification period leading up to London 2012."

Sanctions could range from taking away world ranking points to suspension.

(Reporting by Dave Thompson; Editing by John Mehaffey; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

 

Ugh....someone finally waking up....

 

Badminton body to police withdrawals

The Straits Times
August 16 2011

London: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is to get tough on players withdrawing late from tournaments and on uncompetitive practices in matches between players of the same country.

Both issues have been a concern for some years on the tour, but the BWF feels that the time has come to act now that the tour has created an elite Premier Series with a minimum totoal prize money of US$350,000 (S$423,000) and more widespread television converage.

"If compelling evidence is found of any irregularities, the matter will be treated with utmost gravity and severe penalties will be imposed," said BWF chief operating officier Thomas Lund.

There has been closer media focus on withdrawals since Indonesian shuttler Taufik Hidayat asked for an investigation into Olympic champion Lin Dan's withdrawal from the Singapore Open men's singles final in June.

The Chinese shuttler was due to face compatriot Chen Jin but pulled out because he said he had stomach pains. He appeared on court to explain his decision but was booed by spectators at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

At the All-England Championships in March, there was speculation about Chinese shuttler Wang Yihan's withdrawal with a back injury and on the retirements in two matches in which Chinese players were playing each other.

No irregularities were proven, but the BWF will now conduct special assessments for any main draw matches between players from the same country. If necessary, these matches will be taped. A doctor will always be on site to check on players who claim to be unfit to compete.

"The BWF believes that players must exercise the highest level of professionalism to protect the interest of the viewing public," said Lund

Agence France-Presse

 

gd
its the same as in soccer... any1 caught kelong..... (In modern Singlish usage, the word kelong is now used as a suggestion of match fixing, in particular in the context of soccer) should be punished.
suspension or ban or deduction of points or etc.

 

http://www.bwfbadminton.org/news_item.aspx?id=52091

^ Their article there.

And I saw Chen Xu/Ma Jin's match live, her leg did give through on a shot and she got injured.

Hopefully no one pulls a "I drank too much cold water the night before" stunt again.

Also, hope we don't end up having things like this in matches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxMq0hegdwA&feature=related
Where the player ends up withdrawing because of that type of injury...

 

Yeah, I remember this incident. It was disgusting.

Back on topic, the problem is the onus is still on the attending doctor. For something as obvious as the MJ case, it was plain to see and we can accept it. For the "bad back" or "too much cold water" excuses, it's not so easy especially in a match between 2 players from the same country. If the doctor concludes the reason is valid, there is still the suspicion among fans of match fixing hanky-panky. It's not an exact science and I don't think whatever the BWF does will satisfy everybody.

 

Let's wait and see

 

Even though, I do hope BWF can improve the enforcement in whatever way, but I doubt it can really solve any of the "grey area" cases, like madbad brought up. For the top pros, they can easily claim whatever old injury bugs coming to the surface today, and unless the doctors really want to risk for a potential law suit, they mostly will go with whatever the "proof" the players presented.

Seriously, if a pro is limping around or holding his/her back in pain, unless you run a series tests such as x-ray, MRI, and etc on the spot, how you going to determine whether it's legit or fake in such a short period of time, w/o the access of most necessary equipment?

 

Where have you been? It's been a while!