Kuala Lumpur: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) confirmed that former world junior champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli had turned to the organization for help in the match-fixing allegation after he was found guilty by Badminton World Federation (BWF) of 31 violations dating back to 2013. He was then banned for 20 years and fined USD $25,000 by BWF.
In the official letter sent by Zulfadli Zulkiffli himself to the BAM office on Monday, the 25-year-old has asked BAM to assist him in the appeal process including helping to pay the fine after claiming that BWF has entered a verdict without sufficient evidence.
The president of BAM Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said that the organization would take time to review Zulkiffli’s case before making any decisions.
“We have received the official letter from Zulfadli today. We’ll have to look into this as it is a serious case and would certainly need some time to review it,” said Zakaria.
“I will request the Rule and Disciplinary Committee chaired by Datuk Seri Jabaherdeen Mohamed Yunoos to review this case,” added Zakaria.
Zulfadli Zulkiffli held a press conference last Friday and publicly sought the help of BAM and Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Ministry saying he was a victim of BWF’s verdict.
In addition to Zulfadli Zulkiffli, another Malaysian professional player Tan Chun Seang was also found guilty and was banned for 15 years in addition to a fine of USD $15,000.
See you in 20 years. Lol