It was eight years ago this week that “shuttlecocks were traded for straight jabs” at a world-class badminton event at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
Yes, you read that right, that’s how the Richmond News reported the debacle at the oval on July 22, 2013.
It was a Sunday afternoon when the mens doubles finals of the Canada Open turned into a fist fight between two former partners who had represented Thailand together in London last summer.
Fans shouted in disbelief when Bodin Issara dropped his racket mid-match and chased Maneepong Jongjit into the neighbouring court, “throwing haymakers onto his former playing partner until coaches and tournament staff pulled the two apart,” read the News’ report.
As the story goes, a “stunned Jongjit rose from the floor shirtless while a fuming Issara was cornered by others.”
Both the players’ teams were immediately disqualified and Issara required two stitches to his ear, according to tournament medical staff.
