Sockgate

The contested judgment of taekwondo of 2010 Asian Games, also called "Sockgate", is a dispute at the 2010 Asian Games on November 17. Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君) was disqualified with twelve seconds remaining in the first round due to "unauthorized" (disputed) sensors on her socks.

Yang was facing Vietnamese opponent Vu Thi Hau in the first round of the flyweight division (under 49 kilogram) of the Asian Games taekwondo competition in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China on November 17, 2010, when she was accused of using the "unauthorized" sensors. During the pre-match testing of equipment, the referee discovered that Yang had two extra sensors on the heels of each sock, which she was asked to remove. She fought without the two additional sensors on her socks.

However, with twelve seconds remaining in the first round of the bout, when Yang was leading at an advantage of 9–0, Asian Taekwondo Union vice-president Zhao Lei (赵磊) of China instructed Filipino referee Fernandez S. Estanislaoto call Yang over to the side and inspected her heels. Finding nothing, referee then called for the match referee to bring over the two sensors that had already been removed and kept under the chair that Yang's coach was sitting on. Following that, Zhao and referee had a brief discussion, the match referee disqualified Yang and awarded Vu a 12–0 victory.

Chinese Taipei representatives at the taekwondo venue immediately pointed out that the equipment was certified and that both fighters passed a pre-match inspection. Following the disqualification, Yang and her coach both protested on the mat for about an hour. The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) authorities then gave the ultimatum for them to leave, or they would suspend every Chinese Taipei taekwondo member in the Game. The WTF Secretary-General Yang Jin-suk initially did not reveal the reason why Yang was disqualified and told the press that it was for the protection of the athlete's personal privacy, but later it was revealed the reason was for the sensors on her socks. Secretary-General later said, "It was clearly a manipulative move with the intent of cheating, and that's the reason why the individual was disqualified."

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Wikipedia