Before the 2012 Olympics in London began, few would have suspected that there would be a significant scandal in the badminton competition. Now four teams have been suspended and accused of match-fixing.
World Badminton Federation Confirms 8 Players Suspended
Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
Paul Kelso of the Telegraph initially reported that the Badminton World Federation would be suspending eight players from China, Indonesia and South Korea. Later on Wednesday, Kelso received confirmation from the BWF that those players would indeed be suspended from the Olympics for attempting to lose early matches to get better draws in the elimination rounds.
These suspended pairs include world champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China. BBC News reported that when Yu was initially asked about her poor performance in the opening round, she claimed to be saving her best play for the gold medal rounds.
“We’ve already qualified, so why would we waste energy? It’s not necessary to go out hard again when the knockout rounds are tomorrow.”
China’s Olympic sports delegation has already begun investigating the allegations of their players having thrown their matches. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that South Korea and Indonesia are appealing their disqualification. The countries filed their appeal immediately after the disqualifications were handed down. Ruling on these appeals is expected on Wednesday.
Stick with SB Nation for more on the 2012 Summer Olympics, and this StoryStream as the badminton scandal unfolds.
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