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Badminton: Which top Malaysian failed a drug test?

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Match fixing in badminton? Ex-national shuttler Yeo says rumours have always been around http://ow.ly/CPXUF 

Contacted by The New Paper yesterday, former national shuttler Terry Yeo said: “I have heard of such rumours for quite a while, but I do not know of anyone who has been approached (to throw a match).

“No one has ever come out to say that they were approached, till now,” said the 25-year-old, who retired from the sport earlier this year.

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KUALA LUMPUR: For someone who is used to playing for pride and honour, former Thomas Cupper Datuk Tan Yee Khan finds it hard to understand why any player would stoop so low as to fix matches.

He just cannot believe that the match-fixing menace has finally taken root in badminton.

“It was never about money during my playing days,” said Yee Khan.

“There was no money in badminton those days, anyway. All of us played for pride, reputation … and just a determination to show that we can be the best in what we do through hard work and sheer dedication.

“Over the years though, I had heard about match fixing and betting but this is the first time that it has come out in the open. I’m proud of the two Danish players who reported this matter. There are still honourable players around.”

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I’ve never been courted, says Chong Wei: PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei admitted that he has heard t… http://bit.ly/Zt5lDt

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei admitted that he has heard talks of match fixing in badminton – but insisted that no one has approached him in all his years of playing the game.

“I have never been approached. I guess no one dared to approach the world No. 1 player on this. Anyway, I do not resort to such things,” said Chong Wei on Wednesday.

“Money may be offered in all this but, to me, money is not important, the result is more important.”

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Former national doubles badminton player Jalani Sidek told Berita Harian today that bookies have long been targeting the sport.

He revealed that he was once offered money “to arrange” a match against the famed Chinese pair, Li Yongbo and Tian Bingyi.

“This happened sometime in mid-1980s when Jalani was approached by a stranger during a training session before the semifinal match with the Chinese pair.

“I was really surprised. I did not have to think to utterly reject it, as the risk was too great. As it turned out, we won to progress to the final,” said Jalani, who is also a former national coach.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/277684

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WHO IS THE MALAYSIAN ALLEGED TO BE INVOLVED IN MATCH-FIXING?

He is said to have “accreditation to tournaments”  posing “with some of the best Asian players”.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? It implies that the Malaysian is not a player or a coach.

The person soliciting the players’ involvement is a person outside the badminton community and it is therefore not possible or legal for BWF to investigate this matter any further. Therefore, BWF has turned the case over to the appropriate police authorities, who have the necessary legal jurisdiction to investigate it and pursue any legal action.

BWF Cooperating in Match-Fixing Investigation
Sunday, October 12, 2014 – Text by Gayle Alleyne | BWF
http://www.bwfbadminton.org/news_item.aspx?id=88670

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Police are investigating allegations of attempted match-fixing in badminton after two leading Danish professionals alerted the authorities

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed yesterday that it had reported the incidents to police and would be cooperating in an on-going investigation.

Two of Denmark’s leading players, Hans-Kristian Vittinghus and Kim Astrup, told the BWF through its betting “whistle blower” system that they were approached in June and invited to conspire with others to fix matches.

The Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) said the players, world number nine singles player Vittinghus and men’s doubles number 22 Astrup, were approached by a Malaysian man through Facebook just before the Japan Open in June.
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“But from Facebook, I can see that this guy got accreditation to tournaments and I can see him pose with some of the best Asian players. This scares me.

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Astrup revealed to DR that the man had told him that he had also fixed matches in the Thomas Cup and Singapore Open, two of badminton’s biggest tournaments.

Reuters, October 14, 2014.

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Police to investigate badminton match-fixing claims http://www.badmintonplanet.com/badminton-news/3317-police-to-investigate-badminton-match-fixing-claims.html … #Badminton #BadmintonNews

This is Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, world number 9. He reported being approached in the Japan Open in June 2014 to fix matches. He declined and reported it to the BWF.

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Danish #Badminton players reveal they were offered money during Japan Open to fix their games http://www.badzine.net/news/vittinghus-and-astrup-had-reported-match-fixing-attempts/32369/ … #Sportslaw #Matchfixing

Denmark’s Hans Kristian Vittinghus  and Kim Astrup  were both approached during the Japan Open this year to bet on their own matches and win €2,500 to 3,000 by changing the outcome of their own matches. Both players rejected the offers made by a Malaysian third party and contacted the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to report the case, according to a report from Danish Broadcasting Corporation website (DR.dk).
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The Danish world #10 men’s singles player was probably not the best player to ask such a thing – he is well known on the circuit for being one of the most fair-play competitors, including his role as a member of the BWF Athletes’ Commission and involvement as an Ambassador with the charity organisation, Solibad – Badminton Without Borders. Astrup, who was also approached, is one of the younger Danes in the national squad and is ranked #22 with his men’s doubles partner.

http://www.badzine.net/news/vittinghus-and-astrup-had-reported-match-fixing-attempts/32369/

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