Thai badminton pair Bodin Issara and Maneepong Jongjit (right) in action during the Maybank Malaysia Open 2012 tournament at the Putra stadium , Bukit Jalil.
BADMINTON has got to be one of most non-violent sports, unless your opponent purposely smashes you in the face.
But there is no physical contact between players… or that’s what I thought until I saw the clip of two Thai badminton players Bodin Issara and Maneepong Jongjit slugging it out with one another on the court. The story is they were ex-teammates and there was some bad blood between them.
Violence in sports is nothing new. We often hear of how football matches turn into big massive brawls. This happens from the lower leagues right up to the professional championships everywhere in the world, including Malaysia.
A few years back, a Malaysian referee who happened to be a policeman ran to his patrol car to get his gun after he was mobbed for showing a red card. He then fired a few shots in the air as a warning! I just read about a June 30 incident in which a Brazillian referee was beheaded by fans after fatally stabbing a player who attacked him for a sending-off. Some beautiful game eh?
There are many instances where violence occurs in basketball, baseball and rugby but I don’t think there’s anything quite like ice hockey. Everytime I see ice-hockey highlights on the television, there is sure to be a fight or two. That is one of the main highlights in fact.
It is considered a “tradition” to fight in ice hockey games. While there are fights in other sports, they are usually broken up swiftly. It is considered to be unsportsmanlike and the guilty parties are likely to be suspended for a pretty long time.
Not in the Northern American ice hockey leagues. (In Europe and the Olympics, fighting is a big no-no) Whenever a fight breaks out, the officials just look on as if it’s part of the game. In fact, the fans are sometimes more interested to see fights than the actual game. It is considered to be one of the main draws of this sport, which is already interesting, fast paced and full of testosterone in my opinion.
This fights are started for a variety of reasons – retaliation to a bad foul, intimidation and to protect the most skillful players.
There is generally one player in the team who fights, also known as the “enforcer”. This player is not really skillful but has the fighting spirit and probably has the know how to bash someone’s skull in.
After a fight happens, the players are given a five-minute time out similar to field hockey’s sin bin. There are no ejections.
There is a “code” for fighting. Players can’t use their sticks and have to take out their face shields, gloves and masks before engaging in a fight. Apparently, fights only occur when both sides agree to it.
And they seem to have a real go at it, it’s not a showy WWE smackdown. These guys really go at it hammer and tongs.
Because the surface is slippery, players usually grab on to the opponents jersey with one hand and launch punches with the other hand.
Referees are said to enter the fray only when one player has a clear advantage.
There have been calls to ban fighting because it adds nothing to the game and the skillful part of the game is overlooked. To be honest, the fights are nothing that great and when you see it often enough, you think that it is staged.
The dribbling part of the game is amazing especially when players are skating at break neck speeds. What else does the game need?
Or if you really like fighting, then it’s better to watch boxing, mixed martial arts or the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It is pretty brutal.
As for the two Thai badminton players, maybe they should start Thai kick-boxing to get revenge on the other. I can imagine a really interesting reality show where they are intensely coached for a few months and they then slug it out in a sanctioned "Muay Thai" event.
That sort of thing may belong in ice hockey but not badminton.
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