(Singapore, SGP) - Badminton officials said world number two Lin Dan was unlikely to face further action after he controversially pulled out of the Singapore Open final citing illness, angering suspicious fans.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said there was no evidence "Super Dan" faked the bout of gastric flu which prompted his late withdrawal from the men's singles decider against Chinese team-mate Chen Jin.
Fans booed loudly and some stormed out of Singapore Indoor Arena after Lin appeared on court to announce his pull-out, which follows a string of similar incidents involving all-Chinese matches.
However, a tournament doctor confirmed Lin's illness and nothing more could be done until the federation receives the referee's official report in about two weeks, said BWF spokesman S. Selvam.
"I won't like to comment on the past trend but for this, the tournament doctor has confirmed that he is ill and I think we can't do anything more than accept that yes, he is ill and he can't play," he said.
The illness was Lin's second during the Singapore Open after he also missed last week's pre-tournament press conference with a stomach upset.
The badminton great, who is the only player to complete the "Golden Grand Slam" of the sport's eight biggest titles, said he fell ill after Saturday's hard-fought semi-final with Denmark's Peter Gade.
"I had a tough match against Peter and drank too much cold water. I went to bed not feeling too good and in the morning consulted team doctor," he said.
Singapore newspapers splashed the incident on their front pages, calling it a "disgrace" and "The badminton final that wasn't", speculating that Lin had been ordered not to play to save his energies for the tough season ahead.
Reports recalled that in 2003, a tearful Lin said a Chinese team ruling existed that when team-mates are playing each other, whoever loses the first set must throw the match.
And at the 2004 Athens Olympics, head coach Li Yongbo admitted ordering Zhou Mi to lose her semi-final against Zhang Ning to improve China's medal chances. Li said China had nothing to be ashamed of as it proved their "patriotism".
Lin denied secret orders were behind his withdrawal. But he admitted that for China, the team was more important than individual players.
"I feel the team's interest is just like a country's interest -- it's bigger than the individual," he said, according to the Straits Times. "In China, we're about team interest."
Badminton has courted controversy in recent weeks after officials pushed for a ruling -- since shelved -- to force women players to wear skirts in a bid to draw a larger audience.
The sport suffered more negative headlines when a string of top players, including Lin, failed to appear at press conferences in Singapore last week.
Irate fans said they felt short-changed by Lin's withdrawal from the final after buying tickets to see the reigning Olympic champion play.
"He is the best player in the world and by not playing, he gave the crowd a very big disappointment," said Thomas Tang, who coaches badminton at a Singapore club.
"They were many people who bought the tickets today just to see him play. He would not have given up if he was not facing a Chinese player."
