Latest sporting disgrace reflects deeper problems

It’s not uncommon to see sportsmen losing their temper and assaulting one another. Violence involving players from the same team or the same nation is rarer. Even more unusual is former playing-partners attacking each other at an international tournament. There can’t be too many disgraces worse than that.

The Thai badminton players who shamed their country during a tournament in Canada have few excuses – and the governing authorities have few options in responding. The two men faced off in the doubles final, a match-up that initially seemed to reflect how far Thai badminton had come. But it fast degenerated into a huge embarrassment for the Kingdom. The two players kept taunting one another, and the provocation – mutual, according to preliminary reports – ended in a physical fight.

One side won the match by default. The other made a public apology, saying it took responsibility for the mayhem while still suggesting its rival shared the blame. Who won and who apologised didn’t matter, though. People who witnessed the incident or saw the video online might not remember the names. What hit viewers right between the eyes was a shameful scene of top-level athletes from the same nation engaged in violence they cooked up themselves.

What happens now? A ban from the national team, or self-banishment, is the likely possibility. The Thai badminton association has a bigger task at hand. The incident has exposed shortcomings in a sport where good news often overshadows what goes on underneath. Thailand’s badminton players have made quite a name for themselves, but probably at the expense of friendship, whose value cannot be measured in terms of glory or commercial success.

Maneepong Jongjit and Bodin Issara used to be good friends and were great doubles partners, succeeding at the international level. There are various stories as to why they drifted apart, but nothing justifies what happened in Vancouver. Nothing that has happened between them can justify the infamy that was displayed before an international audience and is available for all to witness on the Internet.

The punishment issue aside, there are other things to consider as far as Thai sports development is concerned. Our athletes have excelled at sports that tend to feature provocation. Sepak takraw comes to mind. Players taunting opponents when points are won or lost or mistakes are made is deemed a “colourful” part of the game, a cultural tradition, even. What we need to ask ourselves is this: Are our young athletes really mature enough to handle the provocative aspect?

Badminton and sepak takraw are non-contact sports. That our top badminton players managed to hit each other during the final of the competition in Canada might illustrate the state of sports development in Thailand, especially where ethics and sportsmanship are concerned. It’s certainly no coincidence that, in soccer, for instance, Thailand’s reputation when it comes to sportsmanship is hardly outstanding.

The largely glorious development of Thai badminton has suffered a big dent. The question “why” is perhaps not as important as the question “what now?” Maneepong and Bodin may have personal issues, but anyone who’s seen the video of what happened must agree that they have taken their personal dispute too far. What needs to be done must involve not just the two of them, because such immaturity at the personal level often reflects a far wider and deeper problem.