Showing posts with label bwfmedia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bwfmedia. Show all posts

Monday, 17 August 2015

BWF Sorry for Anthem Gaffe


The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has apologised after the old fascist-era Spanish national anthem was played for gold medallist Carolina Marin at the world championships in Indonesia.

Marin successfully defended her world title in Jakarta on Sunday against India's Saina Nehwal.

But the version of Spain's Royal March played at the medal ceremony was the one dating back to Gen Francisco Franco's far-right dictatorship. Spain got rid of the words in 1978.

Since the death of Franco the Royal March has been played without words - and the mistake in Jakarta clearly amused Marin as she stood on the podium. A video clip on YouTube showed her reaction.

The words were written by poet Jose Maria Peman in 1928 and were adopted by Franco's nationalists in 1939 after their victory over left-wing forces in the Spanish Civil War.

"An older version of the anthem was played during the Women's Singles medal ceremony following Marin's retention of the title which she won a year ago," the BWF said in a statement.

"The Badminton World Federation and the hosts, the Indonesia Badminton Association, sincerely regret this unfortunate mistake."

The old anthem includes the words: "Glory to the Fatherland that knew how to follow, over the blue of the sea the path of the sun."


Sunday, 16 August 2015

Carolina Marin Wins in Jakarta


World number one Carolina Marin defended her women’s singles title on Sunday with a two-game victory over Indian second seed Saina Nehwal at the badminton world championships in Jakarta.

The 22-year-old top seed never really looked in trouble as she charged to a 21-16, 21-19 win over her Indian opponent and took home her second successive gold medal.

Marin was brimming with confidence in the first game, pumping her fist and screaming in triumph as she extended a comfortable 21-16 lead over Nehwal.

But the Indian shuttler wasn’t intimidated, retaliating early in the second game to take an 11-8 lead before Marin responded with 7 unanswered points to put Nehwal back on the defensive.

The pair were neck and neck at 18-18 but the European champion proved too strong for Nehwal, the first Indian to ever make a world championship final.

The Spaniard burst into tears and collapsed on the court as Nehwal’s final shot sailed out, delivering Marin the title she wasn’t sure she would ever defend.

She missed the world championships entirely after suffering a foot injury just a month ago and refused to speculate about her chances of retaining her crown.

But the unsteadiness evident in her opening round matches gave way to sensational form later in the tournament, delivering Marin her fourth title of the season.

It was only the second time a Chinese player had not featured in the women’s singles final since the Asian badminton powerhouse began competing at the world championships in 1983.


Saturday, 15 August 2015

Marin Wins Despite Fall

Getty Images
World number one Carolina Marin will undergo physiotherapy ahead of her quarter final appearance at the world championships, after rolling her ankle on Thursday during her third-round win over Taiwan`s Pai Yu Po in Jakarta.

The injury-prone Spaniard fell to the ground in pain after an awkward stumble in the first set, with several tense minutes passing before she gingerly returned to the court.

Marin went on to defeat the unseeded Pai 21-11, 18-21, 21-17 but it was an unsettling experience for the top seed, who nearly missed the world championships entirely due to a separate injury.

"I just tried to not think about my ankle, because I was so scared, because maybe I could not play," she told reporters after the match.

"I have a physiotherapist here, so he is going to treat me now."

It was a case of history repeating itself for the defending champion, who sustained an injury to the same ankle in last year`s world championships in Copenhagen, which she went on to win.

Elsewhere, men`s number four seed Kento Momota of Japan breezed into the quarter finals with a straightforward 21-15, 21-16 win over Vietnam`s Nguyen Tien Minh.

But the 20-year-old shuttler`s campaign for a maiden world crown is about to hit a major hurdle, with a quarter final showdown against world number one Chen Long almost inevitable.

Denmark`s mixed doubles pair Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen suffered a dramatic loss to Indonesia`s Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto, with the fifth seeds falling 22-20, 19-21, 23-21 to their lesser ranked opponents.

Chen, number-two seed Jan O. Jorgensen, five-time world champion Lin Dan and Malaysian superstar Lee Chong Wei are among the bigger names fighting for a quarter final slot later Thursday.


Wednesday, 1 August 2012

BWF Charges London Olympians


The Badminton World Federation has charged eight Olympic doubles players with "not using one's best efforts to win a match".

Four pairs of players - two from South Korea, one from China and one from Indonesia - could be disciplined.

Constant errors, including players serving into the net, were made.

All four pairs had already qualified for the last eight and have been accused of wanting to lose in an attempt to manipulate the draw.

The federation meets on Wednesday morning to discuss the case. As well as the "not using best efforts" charge, the players are also accused of "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport". Options open include expulsion from London 2012.

Teams blamed the introduction of a round-robin stage rather than a straight knockout tournament as the catalyst. In the round-robin format, losing one game can lead to an easier match-up in the next round.

In the first women's doubles match at Wembley Arena on Tuesday night, fans jeered China's Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoliand South Koreans Jung Kyung-eun andKim Ha-na .

The longest rally in the first game lasted four shots, with match referee Thorsten Berg coming onto the court at one point to warn the players.

South Korea won the Group A match, which lasted 23 minutes, 21-14 21-11.

Both pairs were already through to the quarter-finals, with the winners to face China's Tian Quing and Zhao Yunlei. The two Chinese pairings can now only meet in the final.

Korea's coach Sung Han-kook said: "The Chinese started this. They did it first. It's a complicated thing with the draws. They didn't want to meet each other in the semi-final, they don't want that to happen.

"They (BWF) should do something about that."

But Yu said the Chinese decided to preserve energy ahead of the knockout stages.

She said: "Actually these opponents really were strong. This is the first time we've played them and tomorrow it's the knockout rounds, so we've already qualified and we wanted to have more energy for the knockout rounds."

A later match between South Korean third seeds Ha Jung-Eun and Kim Min-Jung and Indonesian pair Meiliana Juahari and Greysia Polii was played out in a similar atmosphere.

Referee Berg returned to court and brandished the black card, signalling disqualification, but it was rescinded and the match resumed when the Indonesians protested.

Both pairs had also already qualified for the knockout stages, with the winners of Group C to play Yu and Wang and the Korean pairs to face each other if Ha and Kim lost.

The Koreans won 18-21 21-14 21-12 and did not comment before leaving the court, but Polii said: "I don't know what happened. If that's the game, we have to accept all the things.

"Either they want to trust us - we play bad or we play good. Our control is only to play as good as we can."

Gail Emms, a badminton Olympic silver medallist for Great Britain in 2004, who was at the event for BBC Sport, said: "I'm furious. It is very embarrassing for our sport.

"This is the Olympic Games. If badminton wants to save face they should disqualify the two pairs and reinstate the pairs that came third in the group.

"This is something that is not acceptable. The crowd paid good money to watch two matches."

The International Olympic Committee said it had "every confidence" in the badminton federation to "deal with the issue appropriately and take any necessary measures".

China's Olympic sports delegation has begun an investigation into the matches, state media reported. The country's Olympic Committee opposed any behaviour which violated "sporting spirit and morality", a spokesman said.

Further action could be taken based on the results of the investigation, the spokesman said in a report published by Xinhua news agency.