Ye had progressed to the tournament's final four while Denmark's Camilla Martin and Dai Yun, also of China, were due to meet in the second semi-final.

As Ye and top seed Gong were playing first, Chinese officials wanted the best chance of securing the gold medal and decided that the latter was most likely to beat Martin should the Dane reach the final.

As reported by Danish broadcaster TV 2 Sport, head coach of China's team Li Yongbo and women's singles head coach Tang Xuehua told Ye the night before her match that she had to lose on purpose.

"You feel very powerless because you are alone against the whole system," said Ye, in an interview with TV 2 Sport's Martin, who works with the channel as a presenter, and Jacob Qvirin.

"The Olympics are almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as an athlete, so it feels really sad when you have to let yourself lose.

"But as an individual, I could do nothing against the system."

She alleges that the pair told her she must not be too obvious in defeat and that she should not tire Gong by taking it to three games.

Ye was given a CNY112,500 (£13,900/$16,300/€16,400) bonus, the same awarded to an Olympic champion, for fixing the result.

Ye lost 11-8, 11-8 in her semi-final to Gong, who went on to clinch her sole Olympic title with a 13-10, 11-3 win against Martin, who persuaded her to come forward and reveal the story.

"The only thought was to ensure the country's success," Ye told TV 2 Sport.

"The Olympics is the most important tournament for China.

"Not just for the players, but especially for the coaches and top management of the Chinese Sports Association.

"They must come up with a goal of how many gold medals they expect to win.

"So it is really important for the coaches and management to bring home the gold.

"Otherwise, they will be fired.

"That's why they start fixing many more matches leading up to and during the Olympics."

The now 48-year-old Ye went on to win bronze in an honest match-up with Dai 8-11, 11-2, 11-6.

Ye felt she had no chance but to obey the order as she claims that if she had won the semi-final but lost in the decider then China would consider her to be a traitor.

She is married to former footballer Hao Haidong who currently holds the record for being China's top scorer with 41 goals in 107 appearances.

The pair are living in Malaga and expect that they will never be able to return to China.

From their Spanish home, Hao publicly criticised the Chinese Government with the support of Ye in June 2020.

Within a few hours, they were blacklisted and essentially erased from history as no results appear if their names are searched on the internet in China.

"Anything can happen," Hao told TV 2 Sport.

"We can be detained, arrested or even executed."

Ye and Hao claim that even their friends and family have turned their back on them.

Hao's parents have declared that he is no longer a part of the family while former team-mates have blocked both on messaging services.

Ye has won several gold medals in her career including at the World Championships, Asian Championships, Uber Cup and Asian Games but was robbed of the chance to cap off her collection with Olympic gold.

"We invite everyone who has information such as this to report it to the IOC Integrity Hotline, which is the tool that enables confidential reporting of any information regarding competition manipulation, integrity non-compliance, harassment and abuse in sport and media complaints," the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement to insidethegames.

"The IOC is committed to fighting all forms of cheating that threaten both the integrity and the essence of sport.

"Safeguarding the credibility of competitions is a key part of the recommendations in Olympic Agenda 2020+5, the IOC's strategic roadmap that builds on the achievements of the Olympic Agenda 2020 reform programme, approved in 2014."

At London 2012, eight shuttlers were disqualified from the women's doubles competition after being accused of "not using one's best efforts to win."

Two pairs from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia made a series of basic errors.

As a result, they were accused of wanting to lose in an attempt to manipulate the draw for the knockout stage and preserve energy.