Gold all that matters: badminton coach

Li Yongbo, Chinese badminton head coach, said in an interview that "a gold medal is the one and the only criterion for success," publicly defying the rules the Badminton World Federation (BWF) put into place after Chinese badminton players were disqualified for poor sportsmanship during the 2012 London Olympic Games.

In contradiction to Li's earlier public apology in early August, in which he said he and his team "failed to demonstrate the fine tradition and fighting spirit of the national team," Li told China Central Television Sunday that "he was simply trying to win the game" and "people only care about gold medals."

Two Chinese badminton players were accused of "conducting themselves in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" by the BWF in the London Games, as they deliberately lost matches to avoid playing against other Chinese players. Both were disqualified by the BWF.

However, despite the Code of Conduct set by the BWF, Li said Monday that manipulation is not a rare practice in many sports and his team was only trying to exploit the loopholes of the BWF rules, which, according to sport news portal sportbusiness.com, have been criticized by players and officials for introducing a format that was open to manipulation.

Ren Hai, a professor of Olympic Studies at Beijing Sports University, commented that the Olympic Games mean more than just a bundle of medals.

"The games lose its significance if people do not play it fairly," said Ren, "the players should respect themselves, their competitors, and the audience, as well as the rules."

The foul play scandal is also a result of the current State-run sports administration system, commented Ren, noting that China used to try very hard to win gold medals in order to boost its national image.

Li helped China gain 73 gold medals over the past 19 years but remained a controversial figure. He frequently manipulated games to get the best outcome, even at the cost of athletes' careers, the news portal netease.com reported.

"Li is an honorable coach and respected athlete," Ren said, "but the times have changed. China is no longer an impoverished country desperately in need of gold medals to prove itself to the world."