Pan Am Games badminton event adopts knockout format to avoid match fixing

Every sport has its ugly scars. Cycling had Lance Armstrong. Baseball has A-Rod. Track and field had Ben Johnson. Badminton had the 2012 Olympics in London where eight players from three nations were disqualified after they were caught throwing matches. Three years on, the potential to match fix is always a possibility, even at the Pan Am Games. 

Ram Nayyar, the head coach of the Canadian national badminton team, says it’s difficult to stamp out match fixing completely. 

“Is it ever possible to prevent a player from not playing to their full potential? No,” Nayyar said this week during the badminton competition. “Having different formats won’t discourage that. Raising the awareness on behaviour is significant. And remember, in 2012, there were rules in place to force that outcome.”

Since London, a new format for the Pan Am Games has been set in place. Instead of the round-robin tournament, where players play a handful of games before the elimination and medal stages, the Pan Am tournament is strictly knockout. You lose, you’re out.

A new whistleblower form has been added to the Badminton World Federation website where players or individuals can submit information anonymously to help compile evidence against those who are involved in potential match fixing rings. Other governing bodies have similar setups, such as the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA), to weed out law breakers in sport.

“Our athletes ,they go out and play in a professional manner and it’s just business as usual,” said Nayyar. “If a player has a good understanding of the rules, and are aware of the consequences, that will go a long way, rather than simply changing the format.”

Nayyar explained he educates his players on new rule changes regularly. Players must also complete several courses on the rules and laws of the game, but Nayyar highlighted that match fixing has never been an issue within the Canadian teams.

“We’re like any other sport. There are dark spots. No other sport can say they have a clean track record,” he said. “Our sport hasn’t been harmed at all. If anything it’s created more awareness around knowing what the consequences are.”