KUALA LUMPUR – Former world champion Liu Yu Chen and three other Chinese badminton players, He Ji Ting, Tan Qiang, and former shuttler Li Jun Hui have received a suspended three-month ban by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) after being found to have violated the organisation’s code of conduct.
In a statement released today, BWF said the four players were found to have violated Article 3.1.2 in their code of conduct in relation to betting, wagering and irregular match results for failing to use best efforts to win a match at the 2018 Fuzhou China Open.
The Independent Hearing Panel (IHP) has issued a three-month ban for all the players from all badminton-related activities.
“These sentences were suspended for a probationary period of two years starting January 25, 2022.
“Should there be any repeat offences within the two-year probation period, the three-month bans will take effect,” BWF said in the statement.
Each player was also forced to forfeit their prize money from the 2018 Fuzhou China Open.
The doubles pair of He Ji Ting-Tan Qiang will have to forfeit USD$12,250 (RM51,578), while Li Jun Hui-Liu Yu Chen will have to return USD$2,187.50 (RM9,210).
BWF added that as per the judicial procedures, all athletes have the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of the notice of the reasoned decision.
However, no appeal has been lodged since.
Liu Yu Chen-Li Jun Hui were the 2018 men’s doubles world champion and claimed silver at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Recently, He Ji Ting-Tan Qiang lost to Malaysian pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi at the All England Championship last week. – The Vibes, March 25, 2022.
