BADMINTON has been rocked by a match-fixing allegation involving a Malaysian bookie and two Danish shuttlers.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed on Sunday that they have reported allegations of attempted match-fixing to police investigators.
It was reported on www.dr.dk (Danish Broadcasting Corporation), that World No 9 Hans Kristian Vittinghus and doubles specialist Kim Astrup were allegedly offered €2,500 (RM10,348) and €3,000 (RM12,417) respectively by a Malaysian bookie to fix matches at the Japan Open in June.
The shuttlers subsequently rejected the offers and immediately reported the matter to the world body.
As the person soliciting the players’ involvement is from outside the badminton community, BWF said that it has been unable to investigate the issue further and has therefore left matters to police authorities for further action.
BWF president Paul Erik Hoyer said: “We are satisfied that the players reported the case through our ‘whistle-blower system’.”
“We are aware of match-fixing threats in general and that badminton can be a target for criminal activities related to match-fixing and betting activities.
“We have offered our full cooperation and assistance to the police authorities to resolve this case.
“We treat all reports of match-fixing allegations seriously.”
BA of Malaysia (BAM) deputy president Datuk Norza Zakaria said he was upset that a Malaysian was linked with the match-fixing allegation.
“We do not condone match-fixing. I hope that those involved will face punishment.
“We will give full cooperation to the world body to stop this menace,” said Norza.