Hans Kristian Vittinghus

No badminton tournament safe from fixing, says Vittinghus

“Money is growing in badminton, which is a positive thing in many ways,” Vittinghus said by telephone from Denmark during the Singapore Open, which finished on Sunday.

“But of course money also attracts other interest like match-fixing, for example… I am sure (match-fixing) is still going on, I think it will be naive to say that it’s not.”

He said he was approached via Facebook at the Japan Open by a man he had met at previous tournaments, who claimed to have fixed matches at last year’s Singapore Open and Thomas Cup.

“I think no tournament is safe because of the world we live in with the Internet and the implications it has, so it can happen anywhere and not only in Asia,” Vittinghus said.

Denmark’s Mads Conrad-Petersen said he hoped badminton would pour resources into combating match-fixing, or risk having its integrity compromised.

“It’s just important to have some resources into this (match-fixing issue) so we can get it stopped,” Conrad-Petersen told AFP in Singapore.

“It’s in every sport, also in football and when there’s betting and there’s someone who wants to cheat it’s important that people focus on (getting rid of) it.”

“I don’t feel unsafe or anything because I went public with the story and I have never played in a match where I thought my opponent was fixing or anything,” said Vittinghus.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…xing-says-Vittinghus/articleshow/46904575.cms