Taiwanese Taekwondo athlete disqualified at Asian Games for "extra electronic sensors

[Black Waltz]

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11775465

Yang Shu-chun was leading by 9-0 against her Vietnamese opponent Thi Hau Vu, when the match was halted.

The fight was for a place in the quarter-finals of the under 49kg (108lb) division.

Match officials said her footguards carried unauthorised extra electronic sensors behind the heel.

Ms Yang and her coach protested her innocence and both refused to leave the competition area.

Taiwan officials said the equipment had been previously approved.

"The footwear passed the original pre-match checks but during the match, when she was leading 9-0, the officials decided the footwear was unacceptable," said Taiwan team official Tang Hui-ting.

"This kind of footwear is made by a major company and we have used it before in competition," she said.

The World Taekwondo Federation defended its decision, saying the extra sensors had been removed from Ms Yang's socks before the match, but had been fixed back on.

It is the first major judging controversy at the Asian Games, which is taking place in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

I can't believe something like this happened. Yang's equipment was inspected prior to start of the games AND prior to match start and she was given a green light. The disqualification was a rash and hasty decision, since "wearing unqualified gear would usually result in a referee's warning or points deduction".

If you watch the video evidence that I linked below, you can see that the ref noticed that she DID have some extra sensors on her heels but she removed them without complaint before the match started. Then the judges accuse her of putting those sensors back on during the match when they had been underneath Yang's coach's chair the whole time. WTF and ATU seriously need to look at the hard facts first before making their decisions.

More information at these sites:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6AG42420101117
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/.../2010/11/19/280526/p2/Taekwondo-authority.htm

And video evidence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdPcXA0AMMc

 

[Laem]

for some reason this reminded me of MLG & m2k adhd

also i don't really understand the problem, the sensor doesn't even give an advantage to whoever has it in the heel, right? I would presume it is to figure out a winner in a close fight("Taekwondo fighters have worn electronic sensors and padding when competing at elite competitions for a number of years to enable judges to better determine scoring for the often lightning-quick kicks and punches."), whereas this was a no contest..

 

[TigerWoods]

I've competed in WTF competitions myself, and I must say this is a load of bull. I believe the losing chick may have bribed a judge. . .