Former Chinese badminton world champion Huang Sui surprised everyone when she suddenly reappeared on behalf of Australia at a tournament in Sydney this month after three years' absence as her home province's sports official. Her actions have exposed loopholes in the sport administration system, says an article in Guangzhou Daily. Excerpts:

Huang dropped out of the national team and retired from the game in 2007, and was appointed deputy director of Hunan provincial badminton center a year later. Since then, the last time she was seen at the center was at her annual performance assessment three years ago.

Even though, in the past three years she has gone "missing", Huang has still received a monthly wage as an athlete from the center.

To be frank, if her sudden reappearance as another's country's athlete isn't unacceptable enough, the three years' salary paid to her by the center is a waste of taxpayers' money.

Obviously, this 3-year freeloading is an abuse of public resources and epitomizes the current laxness of officials.

While it has become a custom for good athletes to become sports officials after retirement, posts offered to them are often dispensable and are merely creating overstaffing in sport administration departments.

A public post should never be offered as a prize, it's a great waste of taxpayers' money and public resources.

(China Daily 04/11/2012 page9)