KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton legend Datuk Razif Sidek revealed that he was approached by "officials" to fix matches during his playing days.
Razif, with younger brother, Jalani, won the 1982 All England men's doubles title and delivered the nation's first Olympic medal, a bronze, in 1992 in Barcelona.
Razif said he and Jalani were never tempted by the money offered.
"We were always patriotic and never wanted to tarnish our good name and the country's image," he told Timesport today (Dec 22).
"Officials or team managers had approached us and asked us to fix matches, but we never accepted any offers.
"The money you gain (from match-fixing) is only temporary, and getting caught is not worth it."
Razif said this in response to the bans by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on two Malaysians for involvement in betting-related activities.
On Friday (Dec 20), BWF banned former national player Liew Daren for 12 months and National Sports Institute analyst Jerry Gan for three months after finding them guilty of involvement in betting-related activities from 2018 to 2021.
Razif said he hopes Malaysian players take this as a lesson to be patriotic and not succumb to monetary temptation.
"You have to think things through. Times have changed, even if you are not in the national set-up, you can still earn a good living as tournament prize money is bigger these days.
"So you don't have to get involved in these illegal activities, you just have to perform and prove to your sponsors that you are a good player."
A similar scandal rocked the country's badminton scene in 2018 when former players Zulfadli Zulkiffli and Tan Chun Seang were banned by BWF for 20 and 15 years respectively for match-fixing.