Lee Cheuk-yiu’s Hong Kong Open triumph still stands despite controversial finish, says Badminton World Federation
- Umpire should not have called Lee’s championship point a “fault” against his Indonesian opponent, who was adjudged to have hit the shuttle before it crossed the net
- The 23-year-old youngster became only the second local male player to win the Hong Kong Open after Angus Ng
Home favourite Lee Cheuk-yiu can count himself lucky that he will be able to keep his men’s singles badminton title at the Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open after the world governing body admitted that the umpire had erred on championship point – a point that should have been given to Indonesian opponent Anthony Ginting.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has responded to complaints from badminton fans all over the world who argued German umpire Joerg Hupertz’s had made the “mistake” in awarding the match-winning point to 23-year-old Lee instead of giving it to Ginting last weekend.
Ginting had gone for a smash very near the net and appeared to have won the point only for Hupertz to call “fault” after Ginting was adjudged to have hit the shuttle before it had crossed the net, which is a no-no in the rule book.
Lee celebrated and so did the crowd at the Hong Kong Coliseum as the youngster completed a fairy tale 16-21, 21-10, 22-20 victory for his first major title.
However, many fans contested the umpiring, saying the score should have been deadlocked at 21-21 in the deciding game. Upon closer inspection, video replays seem to suggest that the umpire had indeed erred by giving the point to Lee instead of Ginting. By some good fortune, Lee managed to win his first major World Tour title.