London 2012 Olympics: badminton eight from China, Indonesia and South Korea expelled-... - 1 views
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Willow Ranche on 08 Sep 12TELEGRAPH UK - Four pairs in the women's doubles were disqualified from the Olympics for underperforming in the final group stages on Tuesday night as they deliberately tried to lose by spraying shots wide or into the net to secure an easier quarter-final draw. The players, the Chinese world champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang, 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, were jeered by the crowd. The organising committee for the Games will not be offering refunds to spectators who attended on Tuesday evening, despite Lord Coe describing the incident as "depressing" and asking: "Who wants to sit through something like that?" Officials from the sport's governing body conducted a frantic round of meetings as they hastily arranged a disciplinary panel. An official announcement of its findings was only made public as spectators took their seats for last night's women's doubles quarter-finals. Pairs from Canada, South Africa, Russia and Australia, who had thought their Olympics were over, had to hastily prepare for a return to court in front of a sell-out crowd. "We found out we were playing at 3 o'clock," said Michelle Edwards, of South Africa. "Everything was so last minute. We packed our bags, rush, rush, rush and here we are. The mental preparation was almost zero." South Africa lost 2-0 to Russia but Australia took Canada to three sets before losing. The episode was deeply embarrassing for the badminton authorities who would have been aware that Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, recently described match fixing as the biggest threat to the Games.
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