Editor's Note

Eight female badminton players were dramatically disqualified from the Olympic competition on Wednesday after a scandal over "throwing" matches left the sport in uproar.

Four pairs in the women's doubles competition - one from China, one from Indonesia and two from South Korea - were barred after being hit by disciplinary charges handed down by the Badminton World Federation.

The eight players were charged with "not using one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport."

Angry spectators jeered and booed the players after they appeared to deliberately serve into the net or hit the shuttlecock long or wide.

Latest News

China head coach apologizes for badminton farce
Chinese badminton head coach Li Yongbo apologized on Wednesday for a badminton scandal in which two of his players were disqualified for throwing a match.

S.Korea's appeal rejected, China accepts decision
South Korea's appeal of its disqualification from Olympic women's badminton doubles was rejected on Wednesday, while the Chinese team accepted the punishment and Indonesia withdrew its challenge.

Eight expelled over badminton scandal
Eight female badminton players were dramatically disqualified from the Olympic competition on Wednesday after a scandal over "throwing" matches left the sport in uproar.

Responses

Appeals: South Korea and Indonesia appealed the disqualification, but the BWF rejected the South Korean appeal and the Indonesia challenge was withdrawn. China accepted the federation's decision.

The Badminton World Federation	Four pairs in the women's doubles competition - one from China, one from Indonesia and two from South Korea - were  charged with "not using one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" by the Badminton World Federation.
The International Olympic Committee	The International Olympic Committee was quick to praise the world badminton body's decision. "We applaud the federation for having taken swift and decisive action," said IOC communications manager Emmanuelle Moreau. "Such behavior is not compatible with the Olympic values." London Olympic chief organizer Sebastian Coe described the badminton misconduct "depressing", saying "who wants to sit through something like that." IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Wednesday morning that the incidents were "not acceptable".
Chinese Olympic delegation	"Chinese delegation fully respect WBF's decisions," said the Chinese Olympic delegation said in a statement. "The behavior of Yu Yang and Wang Xiao violated the principles of the Olympic Movement and went against the spirit of fair play," the statement added. "We have launched an internal investigation into this matter and would take further action pending the results of the probe. Meanwhile, we have asked every Chinese athlete and every team to adhere to the Olympic principles, safeguard the image of Chinese sports and make a contribution to the successful hosting of the London Games and the Olympic Movement as well."
Chinese badminton head coach Li Yongbo	Chinese badminton head coach Li Yongbo apologized for the scandal. "As the head coach, I owe the fans and the Chinese an apology," said Li. "Chinese players failed to demonstrate their fighting spirit of the national team. It's me to blame."
Badminton player Wang Xiaoli	I never imagined that four years of hard work would end like this! I am in constant pain, but I kept going for the competition! I finally had a chance to fight for the gold after ten years of no recognition.  Can you even begin to understand the tremendous effort I have made over the years? People only see me and my partner’s moments of glory, but they cannot even imagine how much we paid for it! Why should we pay for your flawed system? You didn’t just cancel a match, but dashed our dreams!
Badminton player Yu Yang	We have been hurt; we just used the rules to our advantage in order to place ourselves in a better position during the second round. This is the first time the Olympics used a round robin prior to the elimination matches. Can you understand an athlete’s pain? We endured four years of torture for these matches, and in one second you strip us of our Games accreditation. You cruelly shattered our dreams. It’s as simple as that, and equally unforgivable.

Source: Xinhua-Global Times

Comments

Illustration: Globaltimes.cn
Some say it is against sportsmanship

Ren Hai, a professor with Beijing Sport University
Ren denounced the lose-on-purpose tactic. “This is totally against sportsmanship, which encourages an athlete to always try their best. They insulted the referees and the audience.”

Yang Yu, famous commentator
Li Yongbo, head coach of Chinese badminton team, had apologized. But he still maintains he did not completely understand new regulation when in fact, he lacks an understanding of sports. He should be punished and sent back to China instantly. A coach who has repeatedly let athletes negatively impact competition does not deserve to continue to serve the Chinese representative teams. Improving the rules tomorrow and following them today are two different things that should not be confused. No matter whether in Olympic Games or amateur competition, the spirit of the Olympics and sportsmanship are key rules.
Some point finger at tournament rules

Bai Yansong, famous CCTV anchor
“I feel very disappointed and even angry,” said Bai after the decision to disqualify two Chinese players was handed down by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
 “Does the BWF even consider the rationality of their competition system when athletes have to lose matches in order to protect their country’s dignity? Any system that forces athlete to lose in order to win is absurd.”

Others
China’s top men’s badminton player Lin Dan
The athletes are not solely to blame. “I think it is the BWF that should be responsible for the match-fixing. The best solution is to change the round-robin format into knock-out format,” said Lin.

Media Reports

	Who’s to blame for losing on purpose? The match-fixing was also harsh?ly criticized in an opinion piece by Xinhua. “What does the booing of 6,000 audience indicate? What is more impor?tant; to pocket a gold medal, or to stand up for China’s image and promote the Olympic spirits?”
	Olympic Ideal Takes Beating in Badminton On Wednesday, four women’s doubles teams — two from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia — were disqualified. But the circumstances were complicated by the fact that the rules of the sport seemed to give the athletes an incentive to lose.
	Eight kicked out as badminton scandal rocks Games Eight badminton players were disqualified from the Olympics on Wednesday after a scandal over "throwing" matches as British Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins powered his way to cycling gold.
	China's Yu quits badminton after scandal One of the star Chinese badminton players disqualified from the Olympics for throwing a match has announced she is quitting the sport, saying her dreams had been "heartlessly shattered".
	Chinese badminton coach apologises after players kicked out China's Olympic badminton head coach has apologised for his role after his two top players were disqualified for not playing to win.

Similar Cases

Table tennis

Table tennis player He Zhili lost the opportunity to take part in the Seoul Olympic Games after she failed to obey her coach’s order to lose a quarter finals match at the 1987 World Championship. After winning she was later forced to quit the national team, Xi’an Evening News reported.

Source: Global Times

Soccer

1. The Japanese women’s soccer team, the 2011 World Cup champion, played to a scoreless tie against a much weaker South African side, in Cardiff, Wales, on Tuesday.

The tie, as opposed to a win, meant that the Japanese, who had already qualified for the knockout round, avoided having to travel to Glasgow to play France in the quarterfinals. Instead, they will remain in Cardiff and play Brazil.

2.  West Germany and Austria seemed to stop trying after the former took a 1-0 lead early in the game in a World Cup soccer match in 1982.

Source: The New York Times