Thai badminton chief battles to save country's image after on-court brawl
Unprecedented on-court brawl involved ex-Olympics doubles partners
Thailand's top badminton official said yesterday he was trying to save the country's tarnished image after an on-court brawl between former Olympics doubles partners, which he called unprecedented in the past half-century of Thai badminton.
Yesterday's comments by Charoen Wattanasin, president of the Badminton Association of Thailand, came a day after the world badminton body opened two disciplinary cases against the players for their outburst during the Canada Open men's doubles final.
The fight was caught on video and has hundreds of thousands of viewers online.
The footage shows Bodin Issara lunging at his ex-partner Maneepong Jongjit and chasing him around the court, then onto a neighbouring court before punching him and kicking him several times on the ground.
Bodin, who needed two stitches, said Maneepong hit him with a racket. Prior to the blows, the pair had already received a warning from the referee for a verbal exchange.
"At this point, I'm not focusing on which side is right or wrong. The damage already happened and I'm trying to save the country's image in the badminton world," said Charoen, who has been involved in Thai badminton for nearly 60 years.