The national badminton association has filed a protest after Olympic champion duo Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) were taunted by spectators during a match in China, sports authorities said yesterday.
The incident happened on Wednesday during a men’s doubles match in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Hangzhou.
Two-time Olympic gold medalists Lee and Wang were playing another Taiwanese pair when a spectator shouted: “Lin-Yang, Taiwan belongs to China, did you know that?”
Photo courtesy of the CTBA via CNA
Other fans began cheering, clapping and chanting: “China, Taiwan” as Lee and Wang stood on the court smiling and laughing, a video posted on the social media showed.
The Sports Administration said that it had ordered the national badminton association to “file a formal protest” over the spectators’ “provocative actions.”
“Such behavior will only cast a shadow on future sports exchanges across the Taiwan Strait,” the Sports Administration said in a statement.
It called on the international governing body BWF and the Hangzhou organizers “to take necessary actions to prevent such political interference” and avoid affecting the performance of players.
The badminton association yesterday said that it had not received a response from the BWF. The BWF declined to comment when contacted.
After winning the match, Lee posted on Facebook: “We agreed to enjoy this tournament and smile more on the court. Although the first match was a ‘civil war,’ it felt great to fight alongside you all.”
Taiwan competes under the name Chinese Taipei in international sports events due to pressure from China, which baulks at any attempt to give the nation any legitimacy.
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