Olympic badminton players charged with trying to throw match

Eight female Olympic doubles players have been charged with "not using one's ...

15:08 01 August 2012

Eight female Olympic doubles players have been charged with "not using one's best efforts to win a match" after a match ended in controversy. 

 

Four pairs of players - two from South Korea, one from China and one from Indonesia - could be disciplined or disqualified from the world level sporting event. 

 

All of those accused apparently attempted to throw their matches in order to secure a more favourable draw into the next round.

 

It all started when China's top players Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang began a very lax game against South Koreans Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na to finish top of Group A, causing the Koreans to win eventually by 21-14 21-11, ensuring that Wang and Yu will avoid playing their No 2-seeded Chinese teammates until the final. 

 

Speaking to the press afterwards, Yu defended her game. She was qupted by The Guardian as saying that she wanted to save her energy up until the knockout phase: "Actually, these opponents really were strong. This is the first time we have played them, and tomorrow it's the knockout rounds. So we've already qualified, and we wanted to have more energy for the knockout rounds."

 

The Indonesians then responded to the Koreans by apparently attempting to lose themselves. 

 

In an embarrassing display, world class professionals failed at returning simple shots and frequently served straight into the net, prompting the crowds to boo and the ref to step in.

 

The longest rally in their entire game lasted just four shots, prompting referee Thorsten Berg to warn the players. As the farce escalated, Berg gave them the black card which meant they were disqualified. After protests, he reinstated them.

 

The Badminton World Federation has now launched disciplinary proceedings that have charged those involved with "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport"

 

While the decisions are pending, they will be free to continue playing as all of them are due to compete in quarter-finals on Wednesday afternoon.