24-05-2025
BAM complains to world body against umpire
KUALA LUMPUR: The BA of Malaysia (BAM) has formally lodged a complaint to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on the alleged bad umpiring by Swiss Peter Meszaros which affected Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing's performance against Denmark's Rasmus Kjær-Frederik Søgaard during a men's doubles second round match at the Malaysia Masters on Friday.
BAM secretary general Datuk Kenny Goh said the three decisions that went against world No. 58 Aaron-Khai Xing during the critical stages were believed to have impacted the outcome and fairplay.
"While we respect the role and importance of technical officials, it is imperative that BWF conducts a thorough review of officiating standards. Fairness and integrity must be upheld in every match," said Kenny.
"The decisions made by the umpire were, in our view, clearly erroneous and denied our players a fair contest.
"Such officiating not only affects the outcome of matches, but also undermines the credibility of the sport of badminton."
Meszaros had adjudged that a smash by Kjaer had brushed Aaron's head before landing out while the Malaysian pair were trailing 14-12 in the third game. Aaron-Khai Xing eventually lost 21-10, 21-10, 24-26, 21-16.
The formal complaint has been submitted along with video evidence and detailed match documentation to BWF.
Although the outcome of the match will not be overturned, BAM stated the need to uphold sportsmanship and professionalism, and has urged BWF to take swift and transparent action to address the issue to prevent similar incidents in future.
