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Both Liu Cheng / Zhang Nan have withdrawn from playing in Australia Open. Zhou Zeqi have also withdrawn from playing in Australia Open. All these are pointing to bad signs of retirement. Any news about Liu Cheng / Zhang Nan retirement?

Thank you very much for your explanation.

Thank you so much for your explanation. But there is also doubts of whether Srikanth is injured or not. Seems like there is really lack of planning in terms of team events. Prannoy also talked about Indian players prefer to play in individual tournaments and he pointed out that Indian players have not been instilled with these playing for the love of your country since young. This makes it very hard for the whole Indian team to excel in team tournaments. Is this true?

Found an interesting news online so I post it here. Any idea what is being discussed in the news below? HS Prannoy feels Indian camp lacks 'team culture', must take leaf out of Japan's book to be recognised as Asian powerhouse It had been heart-wrenching for Indian badminton supporters to watch the national team flounder at the recently-concluded Sudirman Cup in Nanning. First, against a young and inexperienced Malaysian squad in a Group 1D tie and then against a star-studded Chinese team in a debilitating 0-5 defeat. File image of HS Prannoy. AFP The manner in which the Indian team stumbled at the prestigious mixed team events was a hard pill to swallow, considering their individual success in the last two years. They looked anything but a unit. They appeared to be a bunch of unconfident players hesitant to put their best show on court. The results in Nanning did pose a different picture of the Indian squad. Firstly, it was bewildering to learn that India fielded the bare minimum size of a squad — 13 players, when top badminton countries like China, Indonesia and Malaysia had 20-member squads at Nanning. Secondly, the selection process and lack of backup players. India's top men's singles shuttler Kidambi Srikanth's absence due to injury weakened the squad. “It was a tough draw and we couldn’t last as we hoped. Everyone in the team has analysed that we squandered our opportunities against Malaysia,” says Sameer Verma, who wilted under pressure in a must-win singles tie. But then Indian teams have hardly ruffled feathers at team events over the years. Let’s exclude the Commonwealth Games, of course. The real competition is against the Asian powerhouses – China, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia. “CWG was comparatively easy and when you get to the final, you’ll do everything to win it. There haven’t been great results this year. 2017 was a good season where everyone was in form but what people don’t get is that form doesn’t come every year. People might want to say that Japan is consistently on top but it’s the system they’ve laid to churn out good results,” HS Prannoy explains. The Japanese team was the prime example of how to work as a unit consistently. World No 1 Kento Momota cheered his team like a fanboy with the rest of the squad, dancing and grimacing. A video went viral on social media platforms where Momota was in tears after losing to Shi Yuqi in the final. There was always an emotional touch to his reactions. In fact, the circuit has never seen the world champion express at any of the individual events he’s clinched so far. Same would be expected from the Chinese, Thai and Indonesians. What about the Indian camp and mentality? “For team events, we never go to win. We don’t have that culture where players will die to play for team events like the Indonesians. These traits are not instilled and it should begin from a young age. Whatever you’re doing on the court, it’s for your country and not for the individual success. You must have seen how Kento Momota reacted after winning a match at the Sudirman Cup, while on the other hand, he doesn’t even flinch after claiming gold medals at individual events,” he says. Prannoy, who registered his first major win at the New Zealand Open last month, called for a robust structure in place for the smooth functioning of the sport at a higher level. “If you look at other Asian teams, every level of players is given the opportunity to go abroad and play tournaments. Even at a Challenger tournament, you’ll see a Japanese team with their support staff, coaches and physios. Isn’t that systemized? In India, we only fight for the main team to go for the big tournaments,” says Prannoy, who made a comeback this year after almost succumbing to injuries and respiratory problems. The third and fourth batch of players have complained about the financial crunch they face while competing at international tournaments. Hence, less exposure and training. The career trajectory of up-and-coming shuttlers is worrisome and Prannoy feels that it's time for a major change. “Here we see our players and some youngsters competing on their own expense. Nobody to fund them. So, they end up playing a couple of tournaments and back off. Everything is banked on the first top-10 of the country. We need to make sure that the next batches are supported properly. I have seen so many of them leaving badminton due to lack of support. The second-largest country in the world but no champions? The system is at fault,' the 26-year-old reasons. "If I was a coach for the next 5-10 years, I would ask my wards to focus on team events rather than individual events. We’re not nurtured in that way and nobody understands the importance of representing a country at a team event. You’re playing for a group of people who are depending on your antics on the court," he adds. The likes of China, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia have laid the foundations right from the beginning. It's evident how they are ahead of the game in terms of the quality, training methods, fitness regimes and innovations. These nations have been consistent in delivering results at the grandest stage of all. "We need to learn more from other countries. It’s important to know how we manage our load. There might be a lot of focus given on the recovery aspect, which we honestly don’t. We don’t have the resources that we should get in sports science; we’re very well behind when you compare it to other countries. It’s a matter of concern for all of us but I can only hope we make our mark at team events soon," concludes Prannoy.

Any latest news about Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan? Did both of them split and no longer playing together? I heard that there is miscommunication and lots of arguments when both of them play together causing them to have difficulties winning their MD matches. So confirm that both had split? I also head news about Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan retired and no more playing. Which one is true?

Thank you very much for your information. I truly appreciate it.

Is there any way to send in a report to BWF if there is a serious ongoing match fixing matches going on during tournament time? What is the proper way or proper channel to lodge a match fixing to BWF? Any idea anyone?

Another match fixing during the all China XD match of Zheng Siwei / Huang Yaqiong versus He Jiting / Du Yue today. The match is played in two straight sets with easy wins for He Jiting / Du Yue this time 21-14, 21-18. Well the match finished so fast in just less than 30 minutes. I must say amazing and shortest match played in the semifinals today. I really cannot believe it. Well Zheng Siwei / Huang Yaqiong had won too many XD titles. So coaches said no need to win today give chance to let He Jiting / Du Yue win the XD match today. Amazing. Anyway tomorrow is another all China XD matches again. So this time coach will favor who to win? I guess the coaches may ask Wang Yilyu / Huang Dongping to let He Jiting / Du Yue win the XD titles tomorrow. After all He Jiting / Du Yue to win since they have not won any XD titles yet to date. Anyway shocking thing here is the XD match ended so fast so much faster than the MD and MS matches. Amazing indeed.

Well a comparison here. This WS match between He Bingjiao versus Cai Yanyan that is played in three sets ended up pretty fast in 49 minutes. Whereas the MS match between Kento Momota versus Nguyen Tien Minh that is played in two straight sets took 45 minutes. This is amazing. This is indeed too amazing to believe. Match fixing when there is an all China players or not it has been pretty obvious. Come on BWF please do something about this and stop this act of match fixing among China players please.

This is what I said on 6th April, 2019. Today again on 27th April, 2019 another match fixing between all China WS occurred again today. Well it is Cai Yanyan playing versus He Bingjiao. Cai Yanyan had a very easy win in the first set 21-8 in just 10 minutes. Then during the second set He Bingjiao had an easy win 21-12 in just 16 minutes. Both first and second set ended with easy wins for both sides per side. This is similar to that Li Junhui / Liu Yuchen versus He Jiting / Tan Qiang match played at Fuzhou China Open 2018. Don't tell me this time BWF still want to let it be and no actions taken again? Shocking or not? Both Cai Yanyan and He Bingjiao only started to play seriously during the third set. Amazing. How come BWF always let it be and no action taken? Speechless.

Thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate it and thanks for your good valuable output.

I just find it so difficult to believe that match fixing in China is so rampant till today and yet BWF has decided not to do anything and just ignore it and let it be? Gosh.

Players take up the fight against match fixing in badminton Long-held suspicions were confirmed in late March this year, when Chinese badminton coach Li Yongbo admitted to fixing one of the women’s singles semi-finals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Thus far, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has failed to get an explanation from China over the admission. The Badminton Players Federation (BPF) is keen for answers though, and calls for tough sanctions against the Chinese coach. After the admission by Li Yongbo, the BWF began to set up an Ethics Commission to deal with similar incidents in the future, though its progress has disappointed the BPF. “Not enough action has been taken,” says Bobby Milroy, President of Badminton Players Federation. “In such a case where Li Yongbo feels it appropriate to boast about match-fixing, the BWF should do whatever it takes to ensure his immediate dismissal.” “My recommendation at the time was to ban Chinese players from all competitions, including the Olympics, until such time as Li Yongbo was fired,” continues Milroy. How the BWF would react to such a proposal coming from its Ethics Commission is uncertain. The world governing body for badminton has been contacted for a response by Play the Game, though at the time of writing is yet to respond. However, given the popularity of badminton in China, it would be a bold move for the BWF to eliminate the Chinese team on the verge of the Beijing Olympics. Players unhappy Why Li Yongbo decided to go public with this admission remains unclear, though his admissions come as no surprise to many top badminton players. Among them is Anna Rice, Canada’s top female singles player and world number 30, who has been outspoken in her criticism of the toleration of this form of match fixing in international badminton. “Apparently Chinese coaches have publicly admitted fixing matches for years, and to the Chinese it is regarded to be an act of patriotism to make the best win”, says Rice to Play the Game. According to Yongbo, the Chinese team has nothing to be ashamed of as China has a history of favouring certain players when two of them meet at international events. “It shows our patriotism and in fact I’m proud of it,” Yongbo told China Central Television’s sports channel. Rice disagrees: “In Asia there seem to be widespread knowledge about the fixing of matches, apparently without this being a matter of major concern within the national federations.” Empathy and concern Fellow Canadian Martha Deacon, the former president of Badminton Canada, echoes her views. “The public admission of match fixing has been of great concern to athletes worldwide. Great empathy and concern is expressed to athletes who have become direct victims of this. The players in most countries will not tolerate this unfair play,” says Deacon to Play the Game. Yongbo’s admission centred on the semi-final at the Athens Olympics between Zhou Mi and Zhang Ning. After watching Zhang win the first game, the coaching staff decided that she would have a better chance at winning the final against a non-Chinese opponent rather than Zhou. “So we told Zhou Mi not to work too hard and let Zhang into the final,” Yongbo, the Chinese coach, told television reporters. Zhang won the gold as planned over Mia Audina representing the Netherlands, and is expected to defend her Olympic title at the Beijing Games in August. After the tournament, Zhou quit the Chinese team and went to play for Hong Kong. She has now qualified to represent the territory at the Beijing Olympics. The Players Federation takes this case very seriously: “The BPF will continue to push for harsher sanctions against anyone caught match fixing. It is also our intention to open an investigation into match fixing practices,” says Bobby Milroy to Play the Game. Match fixing widespread Apparently the 2004 Olympics case was not a one-off. “The issue of match fixing is not only a problem in the women's singles, it affects all five disciplines,” writes Rice on her personal blog http://www.annarice.org/. At the All-England Super Series Men’s Singles final in March this year there were suspicions about the Chinese player and world number one in the men’s singles, Lin Dan’s defeat to teammate Chen Jin. And in April’s Asian Championship in Malaysia, Lin Dan again failed to play his best as he lost to Chen Jin in the semi-finals. Experts suggest that Lin Dan threw the match in order to get Chen Jin into the final to ensure a ranking of fourth in the world, thereby guaranteeing qualification for the Olympics for Chen Jin and hereby secure the Chinese Team an extra player. “It is very telling that many journalists at the 2008 All-England had their articles about the Men's Singles final already written the night before the match. The outcome was clearly pre-determined”, concludes Rice. Absence of individualism According to Dr. Huan Xiong from Irish Institute of Chinese Studies at University College Cork in Ireland, there are some basic explanations to this phenomenon, which may be embedded in the Chinese social system. “For a long time, no individualism has existed in Chinese society. Everyone belongs to the state and has to obey to the nation. The interests of nation and the state always come first when social members make their decisions. This ideology is also reflected in sport. To guarantee the final success of the games, the team manager has the right to decide which player is going to play and win for next matches,” Huan Xiong tells Play the Game. Athletes, who are selected as young kids, trained, and paid by the Chinese Government are pretty much like employees of the Government. “Their job is to win medals and serve the nation. Emotionally, the sports teams are their second homes and they have to listen to their coaches, managers, who play the roles like their parents” Huan Xiong continues. However, Huan Xiong believes that this phenomenon in Chinese sport will change in the process of market-oriented transformation. Some of the athletes have become aware of their own individual rights and interests. Beijing Olympics But when Anna Rice takes to the court this summer in Beijing, it will not just be this kind of match fixing that will worry the Canadian and her fellow players. Other circumstances cause concern for players, such as the amount of Chinese referees and line judges during the matches in Beijing, bringing into question the impartiality of the officiating at the Games. According to the IOC rules, a minimum of ten percent of the referees and line judges at the Olympic matches should be foreigners, and the Chinese organizers have kept close to that figure when the referee team was set. The fear of unfair verdicts is backed up by Danish national badminton coach, Steen Pedersen, who worries that the passion for badminton in China will mean that match officials will feel compelled to ensure Chinese victories. “Fair play is not on top of their list and that will without doubt influence on the verdicts during the Games,” says Pedersen to Play the Game. Danish players have often played in China and they are used to be cheated by the Chinese referees and line judges, believes the Danish coach. “That’s the conditions we have to play under; the important thing is to be well prepared when you meet these types of challenges and to be able to control your emotions, even if you get a clearly unfair verdict,” Pedersen concludes. To counteract these biases, Pedersen advocates for new rules regarding referees and line judges, especially at big events such as the Olympics in order to obtain more neutral verdicts during the matches and to secure that the Olympic Games first and foremost is a matter of fair play and sportsmanship. More transparency in badminton However, in spite of the wrangling and tension within the Badminton World Federation and the recent admissions of fixed matches, Pedersen is optimistic regarding the future: “BWF is moving in a positive direction, especially after the resignation of Punch Gunalan, the former vice president of BWF. Now we need to agree on some rules and penalties pointing forward to avoid match fixing.” Nonetheless, Rice an ambassador for the pressure group “Right to Play”, believes it is important to her to get the problems in international badminton out in the open, also in western countries where badminton is not such a big sport as it is in Asia: “I take the issue of match fixing in our sport very seriously. To me it is as much a form of cheating as is doping. Not only does it cast a light of illegitimacy on our entire sport (and everyone involved with it), it also takes away the right of players to pursue their own destiny.” Rice suggests a special committee set up within the IOC to investigate the incidents and to punish the teams. “It is important to create a body to ensure, protect and promote the ethical values of our sport,” she concludes. A similar proposal was put forward by Play the Game in 2006, for a global coalition against corruption in sport, similar to the World Anti-Doping Agency. “We have seen and documented so many instances of corruption, democratic deficiencies and sporting swindles, which can neither be solved by sports organisations' own ethical committees – which in reality function as bottles for delicate questions – nor by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) or the International Olympic Committee. There are too many opportunities for corruption and cheating in international sport, and there is quite simply a need for one authority, which can in a credible way devise a rulebook that ensures sports leaders can be sentenced with similar penalties to the ones they impose on the athletes,” believes Jens Sejer Andersen, Director of Play the Game. The idea of an anti-corruption agency appeals to the BPF: “I would really like to be involved with it in some capacity,” Milroy tells Play the Game. According to Martha Deacon, the athletes have to be united and step up to the plate to say this is unacceptable to ensure the integrity of badminton and for unethical practices to be challenged and stopped. “Bobby Milroy, the BWF Player Representative will be in China to continue to advocate for the game and what is right and fair. He needs the support of nations, of policy makers of NOC as he tries to move forward.” “There has to be some very tough measures and sanctions put into place and monitored for the future,” says Deacon. “Everyone involved in badminton must take off their own ‘hats’ and find a way to work together and find common ground for the future of the sport”.

Reasons for Tai Tzu Ying decision to retire after Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 1. I am not a tall player like those China WS. I am a short player. 2. As a short player I tend to need to run more to cover the court and need to run fast for court coverage, 3. Hence I tend to get injured very fast and it is not a good sign. 4. Injuries along the way while playing badminton has leave me with no choice but to retire from playing at a young age. Of course I will miss Tai Tzu Ying a lot. But one thing for sure short players are always at a disadvantage when they play because they need to move and run faster to cover the court hence of course they will be very prone to injury.

Well I am suspecting there will be lots of matches fixed up tomorrow again since it is going to be an all MS, WD and XD finals for China. Well China has been so famous for their match fixing when playing against their own team mates. Sad till today BWF just let if be and nothing is done.

This cause is tough. The tournament organizer is Fuzhou, China. So of course they will not admit to that there is the element of match fixing. Then BWF want to get in touch with tournament organizer to find out the truth. No action can be taken when tournament organizers don't want to admit it.

Well BWF said action cannot be taken and they need to get in touch with tournament organizers to find out the truth. Well during the tournament time even the umpires ended up warning the players halfway through the match in the second set at point 7-11. Somehow BWF can say they cannot find out the truth and wanted to get in touch with tournament organizers first. So after that practically no news and no updates from BWF side. They close the case and no action taken on the players. Gosh.

Worse part here is case close and no action taken on the cheating players. BWF is really horrible. Instead of solving the problem they choose to close the case. Wow.

Denmark makes racket over 'match-fixing' Chinese badminton players Ritzau/The Local news.denmark@thelocal.com @thelocaldenmark 12 November 2018 17:10 CET+01:00 badmintonmatch-fixing Share this article China's Junhui Li, left, and Yuchen Liu, seen here during a different match, lost in the controversial quarter-final in Fuzhou. AP Photo/Aaron Favila/Ritzau Scanpix The national association for badminton in Denmark says the sport's world federation should punish Chinese players for a match at last week's Fuzhou China Open which has been described as a “farce”. Bo Jensen, director of Badminton Denmark, wants the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to take action after seeing footage of a quarter final match in which He Jiting and Ta Qiang defeated Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen in three sets. “I am giving my support to the criticism. This is cheating, it's match-fixing and we can't accept it,” Jensen said to TV2 Sport. “In our context, this is just as bad as doping, and it must be punished because if it is not, we will damage the sport's reputation amongst fans and the many sponsors that are making huge investments at the moment,” he added. Several Danish badminton players are reported to have been present during the match. Doubles pair Mads Pieler Kolding and Mads Conrad-Petersen lodged a complaint with tournament organisers following the match about the way it had been played. Another player, Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, later posted an update on Facebook in which he compared the match to a scandal during the 2012 Olympic Games in London, when eight players from China, South Korea and Indonesia were disqualified for deliberately trying to lose. “This was a complete farce of a match which made me think of the London Olympics when 4 pairs deliberately tried to lose their matches. I kid you not, it was this bad,” Vittinghus wrote, citing errors in play that “just (don't) happen at this level”. “Difficult to get hard evidence, but if you have watched a bare minimum of world class badminton, you'd know what just happened,” he also wrote. The BWF told TV2 Sport that it would not comment on the issue prior to receiving a report from the tournament's organisers.

Information for London 2012 Olympics match fixing?

Now my question here is what should the umpire do when he / she detects match fixing while the players are playing? Should they just ignore it and let the players continue with the match or should they stop the match and disqualified the players from playing? Any idea? How can we prevent match fixing?

After that drama and match fixing fiasco caused by China team in London 2012 Olympics, I thought China might have learn a good lesson and no more match fixing. Turns out it became worse and even Super Series tournament they also want to fix the match among team mates now. Gosh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=825&v=Rn2bEUn5bKI Here is the link to that whole match that involves match fixing in it.

Match fixing among China players is very rampant. This time the umpire had to take over and warn the players. Embarrassingly this incident happen during Fuzhou China Open 2018 MD match between Li Junhui / Liu Yuchen and He Jiting / Tan Qiang.

Match fixing in China is never ending. There are more than thousands and even millions of articles about how China system fixed up matches under the order of Li Yongbo who is also the head coach for 24 years in China badminton. Anyway I think I will not post all the articles here. There are way too many articles. I just post some of them here only.