By Dev S. Sukumar, IANS
Kuala Lumpur : The Badminton World Federation (BWF) plunged into crisis Saturday when its president Kang Young Joong accused deputy president Punch Gunalan of being “dictatorial” and presiding over an organisation that dealt in “questionable” contracts.
Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the Proton World Badminton Championships here, Joong said: “Every single deal from the awarding of the IT contract, TV distribution rights and sponsorship is tainted and questionable.”
Joong’s press conference came after a BWF council meeting in which a no-confidence motion was raised against the president. He walked out of the meeting and immediately called the conference, which was held even as the semi-finals of the championships were being played.
The BWF has been in the news over the last few months, ever since questions were raised about the shifting of the international body’s headquarters from Cheltenham in England to Kuala Lumpur.
The figure at the centre of this controversy is Gunalan, a smooth-talking All England runner-up against Rudy Hartono in 1974, who is perceived to be the face of the organisation.
On Friday, local papers here reported that Malaysian Sports Minister Azalina Othman had asked Gunalan to step down.
Joong, who was earlier close to Gunalan but has since fallen out of favour, accused the BWF of having “spiralled downwards through what could be termed as dictatorship by democracy. The sanctity of the BWF constitution has been blatantly disregarded for the benefit of a few.
“Ever since I was elected president of the BWF, I have always attempted to ensure that the federation is run in the spirit of Olympism and in a transparent and just manner. Unfortunately, things are not as rosy as they seem, and I quickly found out that there is a completely different agenda being pursued by a select group of people within the hierarchy of the federation.”
Gunalan was responsible for shifting the headquarters from England to Malaysia. He argued that operational costs would be lower in Kuala Lumpur and said the Malaysian government and some private companies had promised incentives.
However, those statements have recently come under scrutiny, and the sports minister has asked Gunalan to explain his statements.
Another report that embarrassed him was that he had sent a letter to the Malaysian association detailing the bids by other countries for housing the headquarters.
Gunalan has been responsible for several changes in the game, not all of which were welcomed by the member countries. He pushed through the rally-point system – with the game being played over 21 points instead of 15 – and even changed the name of the organisation from International Badminton Federation to Badminton World Federation.
Over the past few months, the BWF has witnessed an internal power struggle and contentious scenes at its council meetings. Gunalan has scheduled a press conference Sunday, and the crisis looks set to continue.