Bangkok Post: 'Controversial Yu just wants to focus on badminton'
Chinese badminton star Yu Yang has denied quitting the sport after being kicked out of the London Olympics and said she just wants to focus on her game, following her winning return to competition.
Jij het nieuws, wij een tikkie!
Chinese badminton star Yu Yang, pictured here in July, has denied quitting the sport after being kicked out of the London Olympics and said she just wants to focus on her game, following her winning return to competition.
Reigning Olympic champion Yu, and her partner Wang Xiaoli, were among eight doubles players disqualified in London after playing to lose round-robin matches to gain a favourable quarter-final draw.
Yu, 26, then raised eyebrows when she renewed her partnership with Wang to win last week's China Open, since she had apparently announced her retirement a day after her expulsion in August.
"This is my last time competing. Goodbye Badminton World Federation, goodbye my beloved badminton," she posted on her microblog at the time.
"After working hard and dealing with injuries to prepare, (you) say we're disqualified and we're disqualified. You have heartlessly shattered our dreams."
However Yu, who will also compete with Wang at this week's Hong Kong Open, now insists she never retired, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
"I never said I would retire," Yu was quoted as saying in Hong Kong. "It was only other people who said so -- it wasn't from my mouth.
"The punishment (disqualification) was a big surprise as it had never been seen before in badminton. But that's the decision made by the world federation and three other pairs from two other countries also got the same punishment. We can't do anything but accept it.
"There are bound to be happy and unhappy moments in one's life and what we can do is to adjust our mental state when it happens. Now I want to get back to my game."
On Sunday, Yu and Wang beat sixth-seeded Japanese pair Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna in Shanghai to lift the China Open trophy.
Two South Korean pairs and one Indonesian duo were also disqualified for trying to lose matches at the London Olympics.
QR-code voor dit artikel
Betrokken badmintontrainers zetten zich in voor voortbestaan Vereniging Badminton Oefenmeesters
De Vereniging Badminton Oefenmeesters (VBO) hield zaterdag 2 maart jl. een algemene ledenvergadering waar de vereniging opgeheven…
26 march 2024
Almere verliest finale Nederlandse Badminton Eredivisie 2023-2024
Het is de spelers van Almere niet gelukt om de finale om het landskampioenschap winnen. In een goedgevuld en super sfeerrijke…
24 march 2024
DKC wint landskampioenschap in Nederlandse Badminton Eredivisie 2023-2024
In de finale in de Maaspoort Den Bosch was DKC met 5-1 te sterk voor Almere. Mark Caljouw en Michiel Kruijt van DKC versloegen…
23 march 2024
Opnieuw uitstekende prestatie Robin Tabeling en Selena Piek
Na vorige week al de halve finale te hebben gehaald bij de All England hebben Robin Tabeling en Selena Piek opnieuw een…
23 march 2024