Comedy And Tragedy

Comedy and tragedy hit the London Olympic Games as four badminton teams were thrown out of the women's doubles event for deliberately trying to lose matches. The 8 players (2 from China, 4 from South Korea and 2 from Indonesia) were cited by the Badminton World Federation for "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport."

The problem started when the Chinese team of Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli were ordered to throw their match after the Chinese second team was upset by a Danish team. That placed the two Chinese pair on course for a semifinal meeting instead of the final and Wang and Yu were ordered to throw their match against the South Korean pair of Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na. Seeing what the Chinese were trying to do, the South Koreans had the same idea and both teams received warnings from the umpire and tournament referee Torsten Berg.

The comedy then truly started an hour later when the South Korean pair of Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung met with the Indonesian pair of Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari. Both teams went on court with a desire to lose as the winner will meet Wang and Yu (who are the world champions) in the quarterfinals. Jeers of derision came from the crowd and all four players were warned by the umpire, Torsten Berg, for not trying. The warning had no effect and Berg was forced to return and produced black cards to disqualify both pairs. The disqualifications were rescinded on a promise of better play from both teams but by then it was too later. Hours later, the Badminton World Federation threw out all 8 players.

Personally, I feel this whole episode is a tragedy because the players were punished when all they did was followed orders. The coaches of the various teams were the ones who ordered their players to throw the matches so…what’s their punishment? I’m not saying the players are not to be blamed but they are not the only one to blame here. Their coaches and even the Badminton World Federation have to take some blame on the matter.

Put simply; throwing matches is not new in badminton. Many countries has for years accused the Chinese badminton team of throwing matches in badminton tournaments and the Badminton World Federation had done nothing. However this is the Olympics and the Badminton World Federation has to report to the IOC (International Olympic Committee), so suddenly action need to be taken.

Someone needs to tell them it’s too little, too late. Badminton is a relatively young sport in the Olympic program and fans throughout the world had already seen the farce. If the Badminton World Federation had done it’s job earlier (years earlier), it would never have to face this major problem now. Frankly, it’s a little late to be taking action now after making a joke of the Olympics.