Badminton player says Chinese officials ordered her to lose Sydney 2000 semi-final

SPORTS DESK: Chinese badminton player Ye Zhaoying revealed that Chinese officials during Sydney Olympics in 2000 had ordered her to lose her women’s singles semi-final against Chinese compatriot Gong Zhichao because the latter was most likely to beat the other team in finals.

Former badminton world number one Ye had progressed to the tournament’s final four. Meanwhile, Denmark’s Camilla Martin and China’s Dai Yun were due to meet in the second semi-final.

As Ye and her compatriot Gong were playing first, Chinese officials wanted the best chance of securing the gold medal and decided that the latter was most likely to beat Martin should Denmark reach the final, reported a UK-based portal inside the games.

According to Danish broadcaster TV 2 Sport, head coach of China’s team Li Yongbo and women’s singles head coach Tang Xuehua told Ye the night before her match that she had to lose on purpose.

“You feel very powerless because you are alone against the whole system,” said Ye, in an interview with TV 2 Sport’s Martin, who works with the channel as a presenter, and Jacob Qvirin.

“The Olympics are almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as an athlete, so it feels really sad when you have to let yourself lose. But as an individual, I could do nothing against the system.”

She alleged that the pair told her she must not be too obvious in defeat and that she should not tire Gong by taking it to three games. Ye was given a 112,500 Chinese Yuan (Euros 13,900/USD 16,300) bonus, the same awarded to an Olympic champion, for fixing the result.

Ye lost 11-8, 11-8 in her semi-final to Gong, who went on to clinch her sole Olympic title with a 13-10, 11-3 win against Martin, who persuaded her to come forward and reveal the story.

“The only thought was to ensure the country’s success,” Ye told TV 2 Sport. “The Olympics is the most important tournament for China. Not just for the players, but especially for the coaches and top management of the Chinese Sports Association.”

“They must come up with a goal of how many gold medals they expect to win. So it is really important for the coaches and management to bring home the gold. Otherwise, they will be fired. That’s why they start fixing many more matches leading up to and during the Olympics,” Ye said.

The now 48-year-old Ye went on to win bronze in an honest match-up with Dai 8-11, 11-2, 11-6. Ye felt she had no chance but to obey the order as she claims that if she had won the semi-final but lost in the decider then China would consider her to be a traitor. (ANI)