Danish men's doubles shuttler Mathias Boe. - Filepic.
ODENSE: Top badminton players have rallied to condemn the emergence of match-fixing in their sport.
On Monday, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed that two Danish players – men’s singles world No. 9 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus and doubles specialist Kim Astrup Sorensen – were approached by a bookie before the Japan Open in June.
According to a Reuters report, the bookie, believed to be a Malaysian, had approached both players via Fa cebook and that Astrup was offered in the region of ?3,000 (RM12,400) per match.
Both players rejected the offer and reported it to BWF.
Top Danish doubles shuttler Mathias Boe, who forms the world No. 3 pairing with Carsten Mogensen, applauded his compatriots’ decision.
“It’s not good for the sport at all... it’s a total disgrace,” said Boe, 34, during the Denmark Open on Tuesday.
“There will always be match-fixing involved in sports but badminton should not give in. We have to fight it any way we can.
“I won’t lie and say there’s no match-fixing in badminton. There’s always betting, regardless of sports... be it football or tennis.
“Although I’ve never been approached by bookies, I know it’s been around. It’s time we kick it out of our sport completely.”
Young Danish rising star Viktor Axelsen also feels that badminton should take serious steps towards ridding itself of match-fixing.
“Personally, it’s against everything that I stand for because it really ruins the beautiful sport that we have,” said the 20-year-old world No. 11.
“We should take proper and serious actions against such individuals. I’m glad we are doing it the right way.”
The BWF, who are based in Kuala Lumpur, have already reported the matter to the police and handed over the relevant documents.
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