South Korea’s badminton ban is reduced after Olympics scandal

Four South Korean badminton players stamped with a suspension..

16:01 23 August 2012

Four South Korean badminton players stamped with a suspension of two years after London 2012 for trying to lose matches, have successfully appealed.

 

After challenging the decision that they were throwing matches, the players have seen a reduction in their bans.

 

The Badminton Korea Association reviewed the situation, and now the South Korean pairs face only six month suspensions.

 

They are excluded from all national and international games, including not being able to represent South Korea for 12 months.

 

The players Ha Jung-eun, Kim Min-jung, Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na were all disqualified from the women’s doubles final group stages.

 

Onlookers witnessed the Olympians playing off their game, with some of their shots being hit short of the net.

 

It is understood their aim was to make the quarter-final draw easier, a result which could be determined by the game they were disqualified from.

 

Their coach Sung Han-kook originally received a life ban, but this was reduced to two years.

 

Assistant coach Kim Moon-soo, who also appealed as reported by The Telegraph, saw a reduction in the suspension with it being cut to two years.

 

There were also badminton players from China and Indonesia who were expelled from the games for attempting to lose their matches.

 

This included Chinese world champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang.