DONG JIONG ASKS FOR A RAISE AND GETS SUSPENDED

January 30, 1997 (NEW SHUTTLENWS) - According to reports from several international badminton players, Dong Jiong of China, the winner of the men's singles silver medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games, has been suspended by the Chinese badminton association because he wants a bigger share of the prize money that he wins at international tournaments.

In most badminton Grand Prix tournaments, the prize money is paid to the badminton association of the winning players. The badminton association then passes on a certain percentage to the player or players and retains the balance to pay for tournament and training expenses.

In Western countries, most, if not all, of the purses are paid out to the players. However, in the Asian associations, the players get a lower percentage of the winnings. Chinese singles players only get 35% of their purses while the doubles players get 42%. In another Asian country, their players get 60-70% of their winnings.

Dong and other top Chinese players want to get paid a bigger portion of the prize money that they win, while the Chinese badminton association, faced with rising expenses and also a US10,000 fine imposed by the International Badminton Federation last year after the last-minute cancellation of the Chinese Masters tournament, wants to retain things as they are.

Because of his demands as well as an early loss in the Japan Open, Dong was withdrawn from the Korean Open last week and recalled to Beijing. He has reportedly been suspended from the national team. Also reportedly suspended is the Chinese number 2 singles player Sun Jun.

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