Polii and Rahayu managed to defeat their opponents, Jia Yifan and Chen Qingchen, who were the favourites going into the final, in what turned out to be an unexpected outcome. The Indonesians thus secured the first gold medal for their country in this category at an Olympic Games.

These claims of espionage, included in Polii's newly published book, 'Menembus Garis Batas – Breaking Through Boundaries', have sparked outrage on Chinese social media, which has also questioned why this information is being disclosed after such a long time.

Some excerpts from the autobiography were shared on Friday on X by Ainur Rohman of the sports website Fantasista.id. In her account, Polii describes how the Indonesian team had access to live footage of their rivals while they trained on the eve of the final. Apparently, cameras located at the Chinese players' training court captured the entire preparation from almost every angle.

The footage, which was broadcast on monitors visible to Polii and her partner, allowed them to devise a perfect strategy to counter the strength of their opponents in the final. The book also reveals that the Chinese players' training court was initially situated right next to the Indonesian team's court, so, fearing that they might be spied upon, they decided to relocate at the last moment.

“They might have moved because they were worried that the Indonesian team would easily peek at their practice if they stayed,” the book stated, adding that the decision to move was “a big mistake.” After moving to the court with the cameras, “without much effort of peeking from the gap in the curtain,” the Indonesian team could “clearly see all the practice activities of Chen/Jia through that screen.”

The book goes on to clarify that “Polii and Rahayu kept their eyes glued to the screen for hours, as if they didn’t want to miss a single scene.” Both discovered that China's main strategy for the final was to attack Polii's backhand, considered her weak point.

The content of the biography spread quickly on Chinese social media on Friday, generating a massive wave of reactions. Some users questioned the purpose of releasing such information just before the Paris Olympics. By Saturday afternoon, topics with the hashtags “Indonesian Team Spies On Fan & Chen Training” and “Fan & Chen’s Tokyo Olympics Pre-Match Targeted Training Leaked” had amassed nearly a million views on the social platform Weibo.

The most critical voices suggested that, despite the espionage, the Chinese pair were debutants in the competition, which is always a source of nerves, especially in a final. In contrast, veteran Polii was competing in her third Olympics, an experience that provides added value in moments of high tension. There were also fans who emphasised the importance of looking forward. “It’s too late to say anything now; the focus should be on performing well at the next Games.”

Jia and Chen will represent China again in Paris, and will arrive on court as the world’s number one women’s doubles pair, according to the Badminton World Federation. Polii announced her retirement in June 2022, but Rahayu will compete this time alongside Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.