Chinese badminton star Ye Zhaoying claims she was ordered to throw Olympic semi-final at 2000 Sydney Games
- Former world No 1 says she was pushed by team management to lose match against Gong Zhichao so as not to ‘tire her too much’ ahead of final
- ‘We feel very helpless, because we are alone against the system,’ says Ye, who lives in exile in Malaga with her husband, former Chinese football star Hao Haidong
Former Chinese badminton champion Ye Zhaoying claims she was forced to throw her semi-final at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 to increase the chances of a gold medal for one of her compatriots, in an interview broadcast on Saturday by Danish television TV2.
Twenty-two years later, the former world No 1, who won bronze in Australia, says she was pushed by the team management to lose her match against Gong Zhichao so as not to “tire her too much” ahead of a final against Danish champion Camilla Martin.
“They asked me to do this. They told me not to let it look like I was losing on purpose. But at the same time, they wanted me not to tire Gong Zhichao too much,” Ye alleged on TV2.
“They wanted me to lose in two sets, not in three sets, so that I wouldn’t tire her out too much.
“You can go and watch [the match] again. I would purposely put points out of bounds, stuff like that, or make sure [the shuttlecock] did not go over the net. I had no choice.”
Ye, however, stopped short of naming individual coaches or management staff she claims instructed her to lose the match.
“We feel very helpless, because we are alone against the system,” she said.
