Scandal in badminton. More than twenty years after the events, a Chinese player assured during a television interview that she had voluntarily lost at the Sydney 2000 Games. Ye Zhaoying (photo above) explained in front of the cameras of the Danish channel TV2 having let the victory slip away to favor one of his compatriots, Gong Zhichao, considered better equipped to win the title. According to the former world number 1, bronze medalist at the Sydney Games, the Chinese management asked her to lose in the semi-final so as not to “ too tired » her compatriot before the final against the Dane Camilla Martin. “ They told me before the match that it shouldn't be too obvious, Ye Zhaoying said. I also shouldn't tire Gong Zhichao, I should lose in two sets. If you watch the match again, I play at first, but then I start putting the shuttlecock intentionally out or into the net.” Now exiled in Spain, the Chinese continues, but without admitting who the instructions within the national team came from : “We feel very powerless, because we are alone against the system. The Olympics are almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an athlete, so it’s really sad. But as an individual, I couldn't oppose the system“. The International Badminton Federation (BWF) reacted to the Chinese woman's comments in a press release: “ While the Federation cannot comment on specific details relating to this historic incident, no match-fixing of any kind is tolerated in badminton. We want to protect the integrity of our sport by taking very firm measures against any arrangement. » In the final of the Sydney 2000 Games, Gong Zhichao won the title by dominating Dane Camilla Martin.
