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
Playoffs voor Almere na overwinning op VELO
Almere heeft zich geplaatst voor de playoffs van de eredivisie en zal de eerste wedstrijd thuis spelen. Dit zal in het weekend…
30 januari 2023
DKC moet zich opmaken voor halve finales
De badmintonners van DKC zijn er niet in geslaagd om zich rechtstreeks te plaatsen voor de finale van de Nederlandse Badminton…
30 januari 2023
DKC speelt rechtstreeks duel om finaleplek tegen Duinwijck
Plaatst DKC zich direct voor de finale van de Nederlandse Badminton Eredivisie of zijn de Hagenaars veroordeeld tot play-offs? Er…
27 januari 2023
Vacature: BNL zoekt een enthousiaste projectmedewerker
Badminton Nederland is per direct op zoek naar een projectmedewerker. Wat zoeken we? Een enthousiaste teamspeler met minimaal…
26 januari 2023