Badminton pairs expelled from London 2012 Olympics after 'match-fixing' scandal

By Paul Kelso

The eight players from four teams in the women's doubles competition have been thrown out following an inquiry by the Badminton World Federation in London on Wednesday morning.

The expelled players include Chinese World Champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang, who were accused by other players of attempting to throw their ‘dead rubber’ in order to avoid playing China’s No 2 ranked pair before the gold-medal match.

The Chinese actions appear to have triggered a response from pairs from South Korea and Indonesia, who in turn tried to lose to subvert the Chinese plan.

The issue is a major embarrassment to the sport and the Olympics, and prompted strong action from the BWF, which has seen a high number of games affected by withdrawals from matches between Chinese players and pairs in the last year.

The WBF met this morning after charging Wang and Yu, Greysia Poli and Meiliana Jauhari of Indonesia and two South Korean pairs, Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na, and Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min Jung, of not using their “best efforts” to win the matches.

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The four pairs were due to meet in quarter-finals on Wednesday afternoon and it remains to be seen how the tournament will be restructured with half the draw now disqualified.

The International Olympic Committee has taken unprecedented steps to tackle match-fixing in the London Games, with president Jacques Rogge describing it as the biggest threat to the integrity of the Games.

There is no suggestion of any betting associated with the matches, but the fact players appeared willing to manipulate results is arguably more corrosive to the reputation of the Games.

Rogge was a spectator at the badminton at Wembley Arena on Tuesday and the developments in the evening session are a a significant embarrassment to the sport and the Games.

The badminton is being played in a round-robin format for the first time in an Olympics, leaving the potential for ‘dead rubbers’ to be manipulated.

South Korea head coach Sung Han-kook admitted his two pairings attempted to throw their matches against the Chinese and Indonesians, but said it was in retaliation against the Chinese team who instigated the situation.

It led to the farcical spectacle of both teams in both matches trying to lose.

The players were jeered and booed by spectators as they apparently deliberately missed, and served out of court.

"The pairs have been 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'," the WBF said in a statement.

Spectators at the Wembley Arena shouted abuse and jeered at the players amid farcical scenes as the teams deliberately sprayed shots and duffed serves into the net to concede points.

"The Chinese sports delegation take the incident in the women's badminton doubles very seriously," a team official told state news agency Xinhua.

"After the delegation's leadership learnt about it, they immediately tasked the relevant people with an investigation. The Chinese Olympic Committee has always advocated the fostering of the Olympic spirit on the playing field as well as the spirit of fair and just competition.

China "opposes any behaviour or acts which contravene this spirit or sports morality for any reason or in any form", the report added.