Former national doubles badminton player Jalani Sidek told Berita Harian today that bookies have long been targeting the sport.

 

He revealed that he was once offered money “to arrange” a match against the famed Chinese pair, Li Yongbo and Tian Bingyi.

 

“This happened sometime in mid-1980s when Jalani was approached by a stranger during a training session before the semifinal match with the Chinese pair.

“I was really surprised. I did not have to think to utterly reject it, as the risk was too great. As it turned out, we won to progress to the final,” said Jalani, who is also a former national coach.

 

Jalani ( left ) was responding to a report yesterday, that a Malaysian had purportedly approached Danish badminton players Hans Kristian Vittinghus and Kim Astrup Sorensen to fix their matches at the Japan Open in June.

Jalani, along with brother Razif, who had won bronze in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, said this phenomenon is not new but there is not enough evidence to prove that players are on the take.

 

“As a former national player, I advise younger players not to get involved in match fixing as there is much more harm than good. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) should also be responsible and be more proactive in curbing this scourge,” he said.