London Diary: A historic day for badminton

Yesterday was a historic day in world badminton. Remember the date – 1 August 2012. It will be remembered as the day that the Badminton World Federation took its first action against one of the worst forms of sporting abuse. ‘Playing to lose’ seems like a contradiction in terms, but it is fairly common in badminton, as it is in all sport.

Thomas Lund, the COO of Badminton World Federation, said he was “sad” that it had come to this, but I think this was the best thing to have happened to badminton. By disqualifying the four pairs, BWF had not just taken action – it had recognised that this form of abuse exists. Until now, despite several complaints, this particular form had not even been officially acknowledged.

I’ve seen at least two matches that looked suspect. The most prominent one was the 2008 All England final that Lin Dan played against compatriot Chen Jin, where he suddenly developed an injury that helped Chen Jin win the trophy. The ‘injury’ was apparently not serious, for Lin Dan won the Swiss Open the following week! Most badminton fans tend to look at all-China matches as previously decided; some journalists believe that only the first game is contested. The winner is then given an easy second game.

But let’s not blame the Chinese alone for this malaise. Every other top country too has been guilty of violating the code of conduct. Indonesia were suspected of the same thing in the 1970s. If India were to have four pairs in the top-ten, what’s to say they wouldn’t have done the same to ensure the best possible medals at the end of the tournament?

Personally, I don’t mind the attention that badminton is getting from the world press. There were more reporters – and from every media agency imaginable – yesterday, than at the finals of the World Championships or All England.

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Saina’s second round opponent Yao Jie was outmatched yesterday, and perhaps on TV she looks unimpressive. In person, however, one is startled to see her – she’s one of the tallest women on the circuit: about 5 ft 11 or so, and very muscular. Her biceps make her look like a boxer. A player like that can be intimidating on court. Yao Jie is one of a generation of players who were raised in China but decided to move to other countries. She will probably not last long after the Olympics.

There’s a huge Indian press contingent waiting for Saina as she walks off after her pre-quarterfinal victory. She’s all smiles and looking relaxed. “I always look relaxed, don’t I?” she says. “I think I got a bit tense in the second game. But Gopi Sir was asking me to calm down. There’s a lot of pressure on me. There are a lot of expectations…. I don’t think of my seeding (fourth). It’s the Olympics, so everybody is fighting hard. The support from the Indians in the crowd helped.”