A string of allegations of match fixing, bribery, unfair
judgments and race blocking have marred China's 10th National Games
in Nanjing, in the eastern province of Jiangsu,
which opened on October 12 after being billed as a dry run for Beijing's
2008 Olympics.
The women's over 78kg judo final was replayed on Saturday
because, as hinted by coach Liu Yongfu, Sun Fuming of Liaoning
deliberately lost to her provincial teammate Yan Sirui,
representing the People's Liberation Army (PLA), in Thursday's
final.
Though Yan won the rematch, Liu said he didn't understand what
the fuss had been about since "they are both from Liaoning, so
whoever wins the title doesn't matter." He was given a warning by
the Games' organizing committee.
If PLA competitors win, their medals are also counted for their
home province.
Earlier, three wrestling judges had been banned for life on
bribery charges, and Zhong Ling, the country's leading rhythmic
gymnast, accused referees of fixing competition results.
Also on Saturday, the Tianjin team filed a complaint after a
0.038-point disadvantage separated Dong Zhen from his third
national title in a row, won by Huang Xu of Jiangsu, but the
competition committee rejected the appeal after reviewing video
footage, citing two major mistakes in Dong's maneuvers.
"We have no other choice but to accept the final ruling but we
insist that Dong is the champion," Tianjin's press officer Meng
Xiandong told Xinhua News Agency.
The press conference that followed resulted in chaos as some
reporters challenged the results and questioned the fairness of the
competition.
The next day, double Olympic champion Li Xiaopeng was booed by
spectators after he won the parallel bars with 9.800 points despite
obvious faults in his routine.
"I have no comment on the judging, which is not controlled by
me. Everyone should respect the judges' decision, so do I," said Li
at the after-match press conference. The other medalists remained
silent.
Sunday's women's individual point cycling race hit controversy
when Yang Limei of Yunnan refused to take part in the awards
ceremony after being pushed into third place after Shandong's Li
Yan and Ningxia's Li Wei because of a collision with the latter in
the 49th lap.
"I heard Li Yan tell Li Wei to block my way before I was knocked
down to the track," said Yang, whose right leg was bruised during
the clash and still bleeding after the race. "I'll never accept an
unfair result until given a reasonable explanation".
The Yunnan team appealed it to the tournament's competition
committee, and Jiang Guofeng, secretary-general of the Chinese
Cycling Association, promised it would investigate the dispute as
soon as possible.
Zhang Hongyan, professor of sociology at Nanjing University,
attributed the scandals to an unhealthy philosophy amongst athletes
and sports officials.
"Some local sports officials and athletes attach too much
importance to medals instead of participation and sportsmanship,"
said Zhang. "These scandals set off an alarm bell for society."
Liu Peng, president of the State General Administration of
Sport, warned all National Games participants against discipline
offenses after the judo scandal.
"We will show no mercy to offenders," said Liu. "We must uphold
justice in sport."
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2005)