A string of allegations of match fixing, bribery, unfair judgments and race blocking have marred China's 10th National Games in Nanjing, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, which opened on October 12 after being billed as a dry run for Beijing's 2008 Olympics.
The women's over 78kg judo final was replayed on Saturday because, as hinted by coach Liu Yongfu, Sun Fuming of Liaoning deliberately lost to her provincial teammate Yan Sirui, representing the People's Liberation Army (PLA), in Thursday's final.
Though Yan won the rematch, Liu said he didn't understand what the fuss had been about since "they are both from Liaoning, so whoever wins the title doesn't matter." He was given a warning by the Games' organizing committee.
If PLA competitors win, their medals are also counted for their home province.
Earlier, three wrestling judges had been banned for life on bribery charges, and Zhong Ling, the country's leading rhythmic gymnast, accused referees of fixing competition results.
Also on Saturday, the Tianjin team filed a complaint after a 0.038-point disadvantage separated Dong Zhen from his third national title in a row, won by Huang Xu of Jiangsu, but the competition committee rejected the appeal after reviewing video footage, citing two major mistakes in Dong's maneuvers.
"We have no other choice but to accept the final ruling but we insist that Dong is the champion," Tianjin's press officer Meng Xiandong told Xinhua News Agency.
The press conference that followed resulted in chaos as some reporters challenged the results and questioned the fairness of the competition.
The next day, double Olympic champion Li Xiaopeng was booed by spectators after he won the parallel bars with 9.800 points despite obvious faults in his routine.
"I have no comment on the judging, which is not controlled by me. Everyone should respect the judges' decision, so do I," said Li at the after-match press conference. The other medalists remained silent.
Sunday's women's individual point cycling race hit controversy when Yang Limei of Yunnan refused to take part in the awards ceremony after being pushed into third place after Shandong's Li Yan and Ningxia's Li Wei because of a collision with the latter in the 49th lap.
"I heard Li Yan tell Li Wei to block my way before I was knocked down to the track," said Yang, whose right leg was bruised during the clash and still bleeding after the race. "I'll never accept an unfair result until given a reasonable explanation".
The Yunnan team appealed it to the tournament's competition committee, and Jiang Guofeng, secretary-general of the Chinese Cycling Association, promised it would investigate the dispute as soon as possible.
Zhang Hongyan, professor of sociology at Nanjing University, attributed the scandals to an unhealthy philosophy amongst athletes and sports officials.
"Some local sports officials and athletes attach too much importance to medals instead of participation and sportsmanship," said Zhang. "These scandals set off an alarm bell for society."
Liu Peng, president of the State General Administration of Sport, warned all National Games participants against discipline offenses after the judo scandal.
"We will show no mercy to offenders," said Liu. "We must uphold justice in sport."
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2005)
