Badminton matchfixing rocks London Olympics

Mangalore Today / CNN-IBN

London, August 1: As Badminton World Federation disqualified the eight women players involved in throwing their matches in women’s doubles event at the London Olympics, India too lodged a complaint on Wednesday.

 

 

Former All England Open Badminton Championships winner-turned-coach, P Gopichand, said India’s contingent had lodged a complaint with the Olympic committee. “The matter is taken very seriously by the organisation and it will not be surprise if strong action is taken,” he said. “The [Badminton World Federation] meeting is on. We hope that there will be some outcome.”

Despite comfortably beating Singapore’s Lei Yao and Shinta Mulia Sari in their last Group B match. India’s women’s badminton double pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwani Ponnappa, who exited the Games on Tuesday.

 

Prior to India’s final group game last night, the World number five Japanese pair of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa had shockingly lost to Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Wen Hsing and Chien Yu Chin, ranked 10th, 19-21 11-21.

“It was China who wanted to be second in the group so that they avoid playing Japan from another group so they lost and become second in the group. There is a chance that players might be expelled. It’s the system at fault, players are losing so that they can have favorable draws which enhance their chance to win a medal,” Gopichand added.

The BWF opened a hearing on Wednesday to investigate the doubles players from China, South Korea and Indonesia under its players’ code of conduct with "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 matches Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, Chinese players were accused of leading the way by deliberately losing a game. This led to other teams behaving in a similar way to try to force an easier quarter-final. At one stage both teams appeared to be trying to lose.

World doubles champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China and their South Korean opponents Jung Kyun-eun and Kim Ha-na were booed loudly by the crowd Tuesday after dumping serves into the net and making simple errors, such as hitting the shuttlecock wide.

The longest rally in their first game was only four strokes. The umpire warned them and tournament referee Torsten Berg spoke to all four players but it had little effect. At one stage Berg showed a black card, which usually means disqualification, but the game continued.

Eventually, the Chinese women lost 21-14, 21-11 and both pairs were jeered off the court.

The teams had already qualified for the round of 16, but the result ensured that the top-seeded Wang and Yu will avoid playing their No. 2-seeded Chinese teammates until the final.

The problem was repeated in the next women’s doubles between South Korea’s Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung and Indonesia’s Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii. Both teams were also warned for deliberately losing points in a match the Koreans won 18-21, 21-14, 21-12. The capacity crowd vented its displeasure.