Top badminton players Viktor Axelsen, Zhang Beiwen slam world federation’s policy

SINGAPORE – Two-time Olympic and world champion Viktor Axelsen lashed out at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on social media on Dec 4, noting that he was “tired of the disconnect between players and BWF” and questioned if the latter cares about athlete welfare.

The Danish world No. 3 had pulled out of the Dec 11-15 BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China due to a left foot injury and took issue with the world governing body’s response to his withdrawal.

The defending champion shared on X that BWF had asked for his medical documents in order to waive the US$5,000 (S$6,700) penalty for not competing in the US$2.5 million tournament.

Axelsen, 30, said: “I have tried on multiple occasions to send supporting documents when I have been sick and injured, and every single time I get the fine anyway.

“Reading about Beiwen Zhang’s case about her situation just reinforces my opinion that BWF say publicly they care about the player’s well-being, but in the end, do you really?

“Just go ahead and send me the fine.”

His comments come days after former Singapore player Zhang, who now represents the United States, lashed out at the BWF’s policy of issuing fines to its “top committed players” for not participating in the tour’s top events.

The list comprises the top 15 men’s and women’s singles players, as well as the top 10 men’s, women’s and mixed doubles pairs.

On Nov 27, world No. 15 Zhang noted on Instagram how “bittersweet” it was to make the list.

The 34-year-old was born in China but moved to Singapore in 2003 under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme, before falling out with former national singles head coach Luan Ching. She eventually moved to the US in 2013.

“While many players fight to keep their ranking high, all I want to do is drop out,” she wrote.

“Why? Because every tournament feels like a battle I’m fighting alone. All I want is fight for the right to having a choice to choose my own tournaments.”

When contacted, she told The Straits Times: “From the Covid-19 pandemic until after I ruptured my left Achilles tendon at the Olympic in 2021, the surgery and recovery process started to cause me financial stress.

“In 2024, my sponsorship fees were cut by half, and I was out of pocket after the Paris 2024 Olympics. This led to a chain reaction involving stress, litigation, financial burden, which I have to manage on my own. It significantly disrupted my health and I started developing a lot of conditions like insomnia.”

Stating that it is not just mental burnout, she added: “I’m not young any more. There’s no suitable training venue or sparring partners in Las Vegas, where I reside in. So, in the last 10 years I have been training in Singapore, Malaysia or Denmark and not been home much.”

According to BWF regulations, players in the list are required to play at the World Tour Final, should they qualify, as well as all four Super 1000, six Super 750, and up to two Super 500 events. If they fail to do so, they will be fined.

Citing physical and mental fatigue, Zhang said: “If I don’t want to pay, I have to fly there at my own expense and participate in two days of promotion activities... We have no choice even if we are in bad shape.”

She also shared that she cannot afford to have a team with her on tour, as badminton is not a major sport in the US, and players receive less support compared to others in China, Japan and Indonesia.

Despite the challenges, Zhang reached a career-high ranking of ninth in 2017, and also competed at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics.

Noting that her journey has been incredibly lonely, she added: “It hurts that BWF doesn’t care about the mental and psychological toll this takes on players. They even declined my doctor’s note without asking why, as if my struggles don’t matter.”

In response to the criticism, BWF secretary-general Thomas Lund said the regulations have been in place for more than a decade and it “does not force players to play when injured”. He clarified that players are deemed to have fulfilled their obligation by attending the event “to support media and commercial activities around the tournament”, and do not have to play if they are unable to.

The two-time mixed doubles world champion added that the rules are in the best interests of players and to give them “significant earning opportunities, while still protecting players’ physical and mental health”.

It is understood that the BWF has contacted USA Badminton to discuss Zhang’s situation.

Full-time players in Singapore are in a relatively better situation, as they have the backing of the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) despite their packed schedules.

In 2024, men’s singles world No. 13 Loh Kean Yew played in 21 tournaments, mixed doubles pair Terry Hee and Jessica Tan played in 19 tournaments, while Jason Teh and world No. 13 Yeo Jia Min participated in 18 and 17 events respectively.

At the Guwahati Masters in India on Dec 5, Hee played in his 20th event of the year when he teamed up with Jin Yujia to beat home pair Sanjai Dhanraj and Trisha Hegde 21-12, 21-9 to set up a quarter-final clash against Malaysians Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien. But world No. 33 Teh retired in his last-16 match against China’s Zhu Xuanchen when he was down 21-17, 19-21, 17-5.

SBA deputy president Hamid Khan shared Loh’s example, when he had to withdraw from the Super 750 India Open in January because of fever and breathing difficulties. Initially, BWF determined his condition “did not meet the medical exemption threshold” but after “much correspondence” between the association’s technical director and BWF, the penalty was waived.

Khan added: “At SBA, the technical director and coaches carefully plan the tournament schedules to ensure that our players have sufficient rest and recovery time between tournaments, and we have open collaborative conversations regarding their participation in overseas competitions. Their mental well-being is as important as their physical fitness.”