Match-Fixing Accusations In Japanese Tennis

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]Yomiuri: Morigami 'urged to lose match'
Akiko Morigami (right) said a Japan national team coach suggested she not try to win a doubles match at the French Open in order to help partner Aiko Nakamura's chances of making the Olympics by being available for a tournament next week. According to Jiji Press, Morigami revealed the incident, without mentioning the coach's name, after she and Nakamura were routed 6-0, 6-1 to Taiwan's fourth-seeded Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung in their first-round match Friday in Paris. "I always try my hardest, so it was a big shock," Morigami said. "That's not something you say to an athlete. It's very disappointing." Nakamura is currently ranked 71st in the world and, while it remains a long shot, can help her chances of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics by playing in a lower-level satellite tournament next week.

The International Tennis Federation has announced an investigation, saying "It is especially disappointing for the ITF because even the suggestion of impropriety regarding the Olympic tennis event is contrary to the spirit of the Olympic Games."

[dimwit]

International tennis is a mess. There are way too many events on the schedule and the burn out amongst players is all too common. The result is that more than a few players fake or exaggerate injuries and fluff matches so they can get out of the 51 1/2 week a year schedule.

[Mulboyne]

There's been a "misunderstanding":

BBC: Japan player denies 'fixing' game

Akiko Morigami says she was not given instructions from a coach to throw a doubles match at the French Open. She had been reported in Japanese media as saying a national team coach asked her to lose to help partner Aiko Nakamura's Olympic qualification hopes. By losing, Nakamura would have been free to play a tournament this week. "My comments were misunderstood," said Morigami in a statement released by the WTA. "I never claimed that the coach asked me to throw the match." Morigami added: "We tried our best to win the match but we played a tough team and weren't able to beat them."

Morigami first made her comments after a 6-0 6-1 first-round defeat by Taiwan's Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung in Paris last Friday. "It wasn't Nakamura's coach who said it," Morigami was quoted as saying by Japanese media. "It was a different coach. I was angry because it's not something you say to a player before a match." French Open organisers said on Monday they would continue to investigate the comments while officials in Japan said they would launch a probe of their own. "At this stage, we are not really clear on who said what, but we will investigate the incident," said Japan Tennis Association managing director Koji Watanabe. "If it turns out a national coach did say that then it's a matter for the (JTA's) technical committee. It would be dangerous to make any decision before we have established the facts." Japan's number three Nakamura, ranked 71 in the world, still has an outside chance of making the Olympic squad, which will be selected via the world rankings published on 9 June.

[Greji]

There's been a "misunderstanding":

BBC: Japan player denies 'fixing' game"....."I never claimed that the coach asked me to throw the match." Morigami added: "We tried our best to win the match but we played a tough team and weren't able to beat them." ....."

Morigami made that statement immediately after her coach advised her that her next training session would include attempting to get out of the pretty blue trash compacting truck in which he was going to stuff her dumb ass.

[Buraku]

On 2 November 2021, Peng posted a lengthy message on her verified Weibo microblog account, accusing Zhang Gaoli, a former senior Chinese vice premier and high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), of sexual assault, three years earlier. Peng said that Zhang had an on-off extramarital affair with her. This was the first time a member of the top echelons of the CCP faced such sexual misconduct allegations in public.

The accusation drew attention to the #MeToo movement in China. Her post was removed from Weibo within 20 minutes of being uploaded, although screenshots of the posting were saved. All discussion about the matter became subject to blanket censorship on all Chinese social media and news outlets. Since her accusation, and as of 18 November 2021, she has not communicated on social media. When asked about Peng's whereabouts, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said "I have not heard of the issue you raised. This is not a diplomatic question." Wenbin's dialogue was later deleted from the press release issued on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. On November 17, foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was asked about the matter again at a regular press conference. He replied that the matter was not a diplomatic issue and suggested that the reporter contact the 'relevant department'. Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state tabloid Global Times tweeted "As a person who is familiar with Chinese system, I don't believe Peng Shuai has received retaliation and repression speculated by foreign media for the thing people talked about". Commentators seized upon the "he who must not be named" wording in Hu's tweet, and noted that the heavily opinionated Global Times has not covered the accusations against the former vice-premier at all.

On 14 November, the chief executive of the WTA, Steve Simon, called on Chinese authorities to investigate Peng's allegations and called for an end to official Chinese censorship on the subject. The state-affiliated Chinese Tennis Association sent a confirmation to the WTA that Peng was safe and not under any physical threat. However, Simon stated that no one associated with the WTA, including officials and active players, had been able to reach her directly to confirm her status.


China tennis star Peng Shuai to reappear 'soon': state media editor

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Socie ... dia-editor

[Coligny]

Can we focus on who raw dogged that pangolin in wuhan before worrying about dead sluts hunting for balls in miniskirts ?

Haven’t seen so little fucks given in ages about a topic that should have been front page material for the last 2 years…