It's true that Dai Li hoped Shawn Ford to win the championship, because it was not just an honor, but a business opportunity.
Dai Li and Shawn Ford signed a revenue-sharing training contract. To be brief, if Ford could obtain more advertising sponsorship, then Dai Li would get more shared revenue. Athletes' endorsements income was related with their reputation, the best way to promote reputation was to get better performance, and athletes' reputation would become more famous if they got more titles and more recognition of the audience
But Alexander and Dai Li signed an ordinary training contract, although Dai Li had high salary, it was not revenue share. For Dai Li, it would be much better if Alexander could win the championship, but it didn't matter if Alexander couldn't win the championship. As long as he could get a good result, it was enough to prove Dai Li's training was effective.
