Chinese female badminton player receives red card for long toilet break during world final

Huang Dongping (red jersey, in front) and Feng Yanzhe play Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung in the mixed doubles final of the Sudirman Cup 2025. Photo by BWF

The final, which took place at Phoenix Gymnasium in Xiamen, featured China against South Korea. Dongping and her partner Feng Yanzhe played the opening match for China in the mixed doubles against Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung.

The Chinese duo won the first set 21-16. In the second set, they lost 17-21, during which Feng received a yellow card after spraying a painkiller on his groin without an official break.

Before the decisive third set, Huang left the court for a few minutes to use the bathroom. Upon her return, the referee gave her a red card, ruling the delay as intentional time-wasting.

"I had to go to the restroom and change my clothes because I got my period. I communicated with the referee beforehand and got his approval. But when I returned, I was given a red card," Huang said via Badminton Magazine.

The penalty gave the South Korean pair a 1-0 lead in the final set, but it did not make Huang and Feng lose their motivation. They quickly responded by winning four consecutive points to take the lead and eventually closed out the match with a 21-15 win.

A similar situation occurred earlier in the year when Scottish player Kirsty Gilmour was penalized during a match against world number one An Se-young at the 2025 All England Open. Gilmour had unexpectedly started her period and requested a clothing change but was issued a yellow card. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) later overturned the decision.

At the 2025 Sudirman Cup, China went on to defeat South Korea 3-1 in the final, winning the men’s singles and women’s doubles after dropping the women’s singles match. This marked China’s 14th Sudirman Cup title.

The Sudirman Cup, held biennially since 1989, is the world’s largest team badminton tournament. China has now won 14 of the 18 editions. The remaining titles belong to South Korea with four and Indonesia with one.