Yao says players were victims
Source: Agencies |
August 6, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BASKETBALL hero Yao Ming has waded into the controversy over badminton match-throwing at the Olympics, saying China's disqualified players were the victims in the incident.
Top-seeded women's doubles pair Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli were among eight players kicked out last week for playing to lose group matches with the aim of securing more favorable draws in the knockout rounds.
Yao told Xinhua news agency that he supported the decision of the Badminton World Federation to disqualify the players but added that he understood the feelings of his fellow Chinese.
"(The) same kind of things happen in basketball. It's a simple question. Is the match-fixing scandal right? Does a gold medal (mean) more than anything else?"
He added: "People have different attitudes to the Olympics and I must say some sports need to polish the rules. I feel really sorry for the punished players. They are the victims."
China's Olympic team said it was committed to fair play and upholding the spirit of the Games and demanded the players apologize for their behavior, but the scandal caused mixed emotions throughout the country.
Elements of the media said the BWF must shoulder some responsibility for the scandal while Yu slammed the federation for shattering her and her doubles partner's "dream."
Yao, who opened up the world's most populous country to the NBA before retiring from basketball last year, also said it was ungentlemanly to accuse Chinese swimming sensation Ye Shiwen of doping after she won two golds.
American coach John Leonard, executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, said history showed that every time something "unbelievable" occurred in the sport it turned out ultimately to involve doping.
"I can understand the Americans who dominated the pool for decades. It's a common reaction," Yao said. "It happened when (Jamaican sprinter) Usain Bolt emerged and it happened again with Ye.
"Ye jumped out from nowhere to take away the glories that the Americans thought belonged to them for a long time. It's not a good feeling," Yao said. "But I think the Americans were not gentlemanly when they said ... that."
In 2002, former Houston Rockets center Yao was the first international player to become the top pick in the NBA draft.
Top-seeded women's doubles pair Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli were among eight players kicked out last week for playing to lose group matches with the aim of securing more favorable draws in the knockout rounds.
Yao told Xinhua news agency that he supported the decision of the Badminton World Federation to disqualify the players but added that he understood the feelings of his fellow Chinese.
"(The) same kind of things happen in basketball. It's a simple question. Is the match-fixing scandal right? Does a gold medal (mean) more than anything else?"
He added: "People have different attitudes to the Olympics and I must say some sports need to polish the rules. I feel really sorry for the punished players. They are the victims."
China's Olympic team said it was committed to fair play and upholding the spirit of the Games and demanded the players apologize for their behavior, but the scandal caused mixed emotions throughout the country.
Elements of the media said the BWF must shoulder some responsibility for the scandal while Yu slammed the federation for shattering her and her doubles partner's "dream."
Yao, who opened up the world's most populous country to the NBA before retiring from basketball last year, also said it was ungentlemanly to accuse Chinese swimming sensation Ye Shiwen of doping after she won two golds.
American coach John Leonard, executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, said history showed that every time something "unbelievable" occurred in the sport it turned out ultimately to involve doping.
"I can understand the Americans who dominated the pool for decades. It's a common reaction," Yao said. "It happened when (Jamaican sprinter) Usain Bolt emerged and it happened again with Ye.
"Ye jumped out from nowhere to take away the glories that the Americans thought belonged to them for a long time. It's not a good feeling," Yao said. "But I think the Americans were not gentlemanly when they said ... that."
In 2002, former Houston Rockets center Yao was the first international player to become the top pick in the NBA draft.
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