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Badminton World Federation apologises for playing fascist Spanish anthem

The Badminton World Federation apologises for playing the fascist-era version of Spain's national anthem after Carolina Marin won gold at the World Championships in Indonesia.

The Badminton World Federation has apologised for playing the fascist-era version of the Spanish national anthem after Carolina Marin won gold at the World Championships in Indonesia at the weekend.

When Marin collected the medal for successfully defending her title in Jakarta on Sunday, anthem 'Royal March' played, but it was the version from the old far-right era under General Francisco Franco.

Since 1978, the anthem has been played without words following the death of Franco, but the old version was mistakenly used at the Championships.

A statement from BWF said: "An older version of the anthem was played during the women's singles medal ceremony following Marin's retention of the title which she won a year ago.

"The Badminton World Federation and the hosts, the Indonesia Badminton Association, sincerely regret this unfortunate mistake."

Marin defeated India's Saina Nehwal to take gold.

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China's Chen Long poses with his trophy following victory over Denmark's Jan Jorgensen in their All England Open Badminton Championships men's singles final match in Birmingham, central England, on March 8, 2015
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