Olympics chiefs launch probe after farcical badminton match which both Chinese and South Korean pairs try to LOSE to secure easier quarter-final draw

By LEON WATSON

Farce: China's Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang play against South Korea's Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na

The Olympic women's badminton tournament descended into farce last night as four pairs all appeared to try to lose their matches.
A pair from China, two from South Korea and another from Indonesia all attempted to throw their games in order to secure a favorable draw in the next round.
There were boos from the at Wembley Arena crowd as the world class athletes repeatedly put serves into the net and failed to return simple shots on an embarrassing evening for the sport.
The Badminton World Federation has now launched disciplinary proceedings.

Victors: Kim Ha-na (left) and Jung Kyung-eun (right) eventually won, despite their best efforts

A statement from the BWF confirmed that all four pairs would face charges of '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'.
A disciplinary hearing will be held with a decision announced in due course.
At present all four pairs are included in the order of play with their quarter-finals scheduled to take place this evening session.
They women had already qualified for the last eight meaning that the only issues at stake were the final placings in the first-round group stage.

Quiet word: Tournament referee Torsten Berg was forced to intervene after all four players began missing routine shots

The fiasco began when Chinese top seeds Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang started to show little interest in beating Koreans Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na to finish top of Group A.
Coming second would have meant avoiding compatriots and second seeds Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei at least until the final.
Tian and Zhao had been sent off their natural path to the final as second seeds by defeat to Denmark's Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen earlier in the day.
The Koreans responded to China's antics by copying them and referee Thorsten Berg emerged to warn all the players.
The match restarted and the Koreans went on to win 21-14 21-11. The longest rally in the first game had been just four strokes.



source: dailymail