Painful reminder: Goh Sze Fei (front) had cramps but the umpire did not allow him to seek treatment as the rule prevents matches to be stopped to get medical assistance. — AP
PETALING JAYA: There are one too many controversies surrounding medical issues and rules in badminton this year.
And Datuk Lee Chong Wei hopes the Badminton World Federation (BWF) will find a quick solution to arrest the grey areas surrounding those issues to ensure that players get the best treatment.
In the World Tour Finals that ended in Hangzhou, China on Sunday, a few players including Goh Sze Fei were not allowed to take a breather while they were apparently suffering in pain.
Sze Fei for instance had cramps but the umpire did not allow him to seek treatment as the rule prevents matches to be stopped to get medical assistance.
It’s either the player stops playing altogether or fight through the pain and play on.
“The rule is made to stop players from time wasting.”
Sze Fei wobbled his way and eventually completed the group match with partner Nur Izzuddin Rumsani against Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
Eventually Sze Fei was able to reach the final with Izzuddin before losing to the same Danish pair.
The story was different for Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik. They had beaten He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu of China in the group stage but Xiangyu suffered a back injury and withdrew.
Due to that, the Malaysians’ result against them was declared null and void and they eventually failed to clear the group stage.
Even before the Finals, two-time Olympic Games champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark had criticised the world body for ignoring players’ mental health.
“There are not one or two but many complaints and grievances on BWF’s medical procedures and court rules. Maybe, it is time for the world body to find solutions,” said Chong Wei.
“I do believe that some of the cases highlighted are genuine and need to be reviewed.”
Chong Wei said in the past, BWF had changed their rules.
“During my time, players manipulated rules and threw away matches so that they can avoid top players in some major tournaments. BWF however, did well to tighten up the rule.
“They can find better solutions to support these players in regards to recent issues. BWF can learn from other sports like tennis and football, and see how it is done.”
In September, the China Open tournament referee allowed the home team’s medical personnel to treat men’s doubles player Xiangyu after he strained his back towards the end of the first game against Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin.
The world body were also questioned on emergency medical protocols when China’s Zhang Zhijie who died due to cardiac arrest during the Asian Junior Championships in Indonesia.
