Olympics 2012 Badminton Scandal: Eight Women Disqualified from Badminton Tournament For Cheating
Eight female badminton doubles players were disqualified from the Games on Aug. 1 following accusations by tournament officials that they purposely tried to lose matches to receive more favorable opponents and a better spot in the tournament, according to The Huffington Post.
The Badminton World Federation came to the decision after they sought out to investigate two teams from South Korea and one from China and Indonesia.
The disqualified players are world doubles champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang from Team China and South Korea's Jung Kyun-eun and Kim Ha-na, as well as South Korea's Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung. The disqualified athletes from Indonesia are Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii.
The Federation is accusing the noted players for supposedly "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," in regards to matches on Tuesday night.
The Indonesian and South Korean team are planning to appeal the charges and punishment on their players. China chose not to challenge the decision.
The BWF said there would be quarterfinals in the women's doubles, perhaps suggesting that at least one eliminated team will be brought back and placed into the last eight, taking China's place since they decided to step out of the competition, according to The Associated Press.
The competition was scheduled to continue on Aug. 1 but with the current scandal, it is unclear whether four eliminated teams will be brought back to play in the quarterfinals or if the competition will, unfortunately, restart from the semifinal stage, according to the Post.
The AP also reported that the players were booed during their tournaments after it became apparent to the audience that they were deliberately trying to lose. The teams were attempt get results that would manipulate the system and get them an easier matchup in another round.
In one instance, the South Korean team of Ha and Kim tried to lose to the Indonesians so they would avoid having to be matched up with Wang and Yu in the quarterfinals.
