NST 06 Jan 2007 CHINA chief coach Li Yongbo will be cautioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for provoking Indonesian fans during the Doha Asian Games men’s team event last month. Yongbo was engaged in a verbal confrontation as well as making gestures to the Indonesians after China’s first doubles pair Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun were beaten by Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan to tie the semi-final 1-1. China went on to win the tie 3-1 but Yongbo’s actions were against BWF’s code of conduct as players and officials are not allowed to confront fans. BWF deputy president Datuk Punch Gunalan said he was not aware of the incident but action will be taken if Yongbo is found guilty. "I was not aware of the incident and I will speak to Yongbo during the Malaysia Open to get his side of the story," said Gunalan. "BWF does not condone behaviour which jeopardises its image and we will make sure that such incidents don’t take place. Indonesia did not make an official protest on the incident but we will look into the matter." Meanwhile, BWF has also won a case initiated by the Russian Badminton Federation (RBF) after the parent body had taken a decision not to recognise RBF as its affiliate last May. RBF filed a case with the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS), based in Lausanne, but CAS decided in favour of BWF after finding that RBF has already ceased to be member of the Russian Olympic Committee.
