Eight Olympic Badminton Players Thrown Out Of 2012 Summer Olympics For Throwing Matches
Olympic badminton is apparently ripe with cheating. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, eight players have been sent home from the tournament because they were throwing matches in order to set up easier matches in the future. Smart plan, but poorly executed.
Officials from the Badminton World Federation, the sport’s governing body, determined that the four sets of women violated the Players’ Code of Conduct, Sections 4.5 and 4.6, for “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 two separate matches, the players appeared to be trying to serve into the net and hitting shots wide out of bounds. Their play led to hoots and catcalls from the packed house at Wembley Arena, with some fans yelling, “Off, off, off.” The shouting and boos cascaded over a match on a nearby court. In one match, a Danish umpire warned the players that they risked being tossed by flashing a black card, a rare action in the sport.
I would have never guessed that Olympic badminton would be ripe with situations like this, but it is comparable to some American sports. Tanking matches in order to set up easier ones is like resting players in football or tanking for a lottery pick in basketball. It is horrible for the fans but the teams seem to enjoy it.
At least the board acted quickly. They have shown that they will not tolerate cheating in Olympic badminton. I was never aware that such a thing like this could happen but I guess you learn something new every four years when the Summer Games roll around.
If you are keeping score at home, four South Koreans, two Chinese, and two Indonesian women were the culprits in this mess but they are appealing. Who knew Olympic badminton could be this interesting?
Riley Schmitt is a writer for Rant Sports.
