(Photo credit: chipmk)
I really could not believe that Olympic level athletes would throw a game, but the Chinese badminton players did just that.
Here’s the story if you’ve missed it:
LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) – World badminton apologised on Wednesday for a scandal that has sullied the sport’s reputation at the London Olympics and resulted in eight women being disqualified from the tournament.
The expulsion of four women’s doubles pairs sent shockwaves through the tournament, removing China’s top-seeded duo and other doubles pairs from the South Korean and Indonesian teams.
“I’m very, very sorry this has happened for both the players and for the sport,” Badminton World Federation secretary general Thomas Lund told a media conference.
“We made this decision for the best interests of all the players. The most important thing is to deal with such cases in a firm and fair manner.”
The head coach of China’s badminton team Li Yongbo told Chinese media he was responsible for his world championship duo Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli’s failure to compete for victory.
“As head coach, I owe the supporters of Chinese badminton and the Chinese TV audiences an apology,” he was quoted as saying. “Chinese players failed to demonstrate the fine tradition and fighting spirit of the national team.
“It’s me to blame.” More.
I’d even suggest the coach get booted from the sport. I wonder what the Chinese government will do. He must be a state employee.
Related articles
- Badminton Doubles Pairs Face Match-Throwing Probe (abcnews.go.com)
- 8 badminton players thrown out of Olympics for trying to lose (news.blogs.cnn.com)
- Olympic Badminton Players Disqualified for Throwing Matches (nytimes.com)
- China condemns badminton players who ‘tried to lose’ Olympic games (itv.com)
smkelly8
