Should Lin Dan be banned from China's badminton super league?

Lin Dan, the two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion, will definitely miss the semifinal of China Badminton Super League due to sponsoring clash against the organizer, according to Xinhua.

Lin was informed by the organizer that he could not feature in the coming semifinal ahead of the game on June 13. This was not the first time that Lin was involved in conflicts among sponsors. In 2015 Sudirman Cup, the conflict between Lining and Yonex, which was the sponsor of the event and the current sponsor of Lin Dan respectively, was compromised by Lin's efforts in covering the brand of the latter on apparels.

What confused Lin was that the sides could work out coordination in international competition like Sudirman Cup while the outcome turned out to be simply negative in domestic games.

Victor, as the sponsor of China Badminton Super League, was rumored to prevent Lin from attending the game. But Chinese Badminton Association reportedly played an important role in rejecting Lin by denying the previously negotiated schemes which would be to cover the brand of Yonex when Lin featured.

The incident ended up with Lin's failure to play the game in front of his fans. It appears that no one, no matter it is Victor or Lin or even the fans, has benefited from the unpleasant decision. It did not only leave the fans and the player himself with huge disappointments but also expose the unprofessionalism of the professional badminton league in China.

It cannot yet be concluded that how much negative influence this incident will have on the sport. But the development of the sport in China has been contributed from a rejected world N0.1 who eagers to play a role in domestic league and the disappointed fans who pay for the tickets to watch their favorite players playin.

Actually, the incident could have been avoided as there have been a number of examples showing how to work out a compromised scheme to carry on the sport in a situation where players’ personal sponsors conflict with event sponsors.