Makai reportedly obtained a passport for Semi under this new name, and he was universally referred to in the media, as well as by the International Luge Federation and the Chinese Olympic Committee, as "Banani".

[9] Before this transformation, some media had referred to Semi by his true name, including the Samoa Observer[2] and Radio Australia,[10] based on an article in Matangi Tonga.

This time, the revelation was echoed in other media articles (some of which contained errors themselves, such as The Daily Telegraph referring to Semi's home country as the "island of Tonga").

[19][20] International Olympic Committee Vice President Thomas Bach responded by saying the name change was "in bad taste", a "perverse marketing idea".

[23] He competed in the men's singles, under the name Banani, and finished thirty-second out of thirty-nine, with a combined time of 3:33.676, six seconds behind gold medal winner Felix Loch.