Kuala Lumpur: In a shocking revelation, the World No. 2 men’s singles player Lee Chong Wei has disclosed that he had turned down an offer made to him by a bookie to throw matches during a tournament.
The Malaysian badminton superstar said he did not entertain the offer as he played badminton not for the money but for the pride of his country.
“Someone did offer me to fix a match, but for me, money is not everything. The most important thing is playing for the honor of the country,” said Lee on Tuesday.
Hence, the most senior player in the Malaysia national squad also urged his teammates to distance themselves from any potential match-fixing activities.
“There is no easy way to achieve success, players have to understand the true meaning of representing our country on the international level.”
“That match-fixing scandal definitely has caused damage to our country’s image and to the sport of badminton. Although those two players are not from Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), they are still representing Malaysia every time they play.”
“I really hope this issue will be resolved as soon as possible and I believe BAM will take a decisive action on this.”
Lee who is currently training for the upcoming All England to held from March 14 to March 18. According to the draw released by BWF, he and Lin Dan were drawn into the same half and could face each other in the final eight.
