FORMER world No 1 Datuk Lee Chong Wei does not want to name and shame the person who tried to fix the 2006 Doha Asian Games semi-final match between him and Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat.
Taufik, who went on to be crowned champion, revealed in an interview recently that he was approached by a Malaysian team official to throw the match.
In his interview with an Indonesian reporter, the 2004 Olympic gold medallist alleged that he was offered double the 200 million rupiah (RM60,000) that was promised by the Indonesian government to win the competition.
Chong Wei, who was shocked by the revelation, said yesterday he contacted Taufik over the issue.
"Honestly, I had no idea about this. I was surprised when people started contacting me today.
"Taufik is a dear friend, so I quickly got in touch with him. He told me what had happened.
"Thankfully for people like Taufik and me, national pride always comes first.
"I know who the person is, but it's been so long since this took place. I believe we should all move on.
"I don't want to name or shame anybody," Chong Wei told Timesport.
The three-time Olympic silver medallist admitted that he had also been approached in the past by bookies to fix matches, but had never gotten involved.
In 2018, two Malaysian professional shuttlers, Zulfadli Zulkiffli and Tan Chun Seang were handed a 20-year and 15-year ban respectively by the Badminton World Federation for match-fixing.
"I admit... I was also approached in the past to throw matches. I was young then.
"However, my country always comes first. That is why I stayed away from it," added Chong Wei, who hung up his racquet in 2019 after battling nose cancer.
Like Chong Wei, Taufik also did not want to reveal the identity of the team official, who was a former national player.
At the 2006 Asian Games, Taufik defeated Chong Wei 21-16, 21-18 in the last four, and went on to subdue China's Lin Dan 21-15, 22-20 in the final.