Yu Yang, China badminton star disqualified for throwing match, says she's quitting

China's Yu Yang, left, and Wang Xiaoli talk while playing against Jung Kyun-eun and Kim Ha-na, of South Korea, in a women's doubles badminton match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, July 31, 2012, in London. / AP

(AP) LONDON - Olympic officials demanded a deeper investigation into the badminton fixing scandal Thursday as China's coach took the blame for a match being thrown at the London Games and a player appeared to quit the tarnished sport.

The International Olympic Committee wants team coaches, trainers or officials of the four doubles pairs to be punished if they encouraged or ordered the eight, now-disqualified players to lose intentionally.

The doubles teams — the top-seeded pair from China, two pairs from South Korea and one from Indonesia — were also set to have their accreditations removed by their national Olympic bodies and sent home.

Defending Olympic champion Yu Yang of China went further by apparently announcing her retirement from badminton.

"This is my last game," read a posting on a verified account for Yu on the Tencent microblogging service. "Farewell Badminton World Federation. Farewell my dear badminton."

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Eight badminton players disqualified from Olympics

Yu's retirement could not be immediately confirmed with Chinese badminton officials and was not referenced in an interview with state television.

"I think firstly we should apologize to the Chinese audience, because we did not demonstrate the Olympic spirit. ... We did not give the audience a game that fully demonstrated our skills," she said. "And it really resulted in a lot of negative influence."

Chinese badminton coach Li Yongbo also issued an apology, saying: "It's me to blame."

"We didn't take each competition seriously and follow the Olympic spirit of 'higher, faster and stronger' as professional athletes," Li added on Chinese television.

Yu and Wang Xiaoli, the world champions and Olympic gold-medal favorites, were one of four doubles teams that played poorly on purpose to secure a more favorable position in the quarterfinals lineup.

"I will prove myself in future games," Wang said. "I pledge to play to my full strength in future games, in each competition, to build a new image of us among the audience in the future."

Along with two teams from South Korea and another from Indonesia, it appeared to be the first mass disqualification in Olympic history.

The Chinese pair drew jeers as they intentionally lost to the South Koreans to rig the draw so they wouldn't have to face their second-seeded compatriots in the semifinals.

"We did not fully understand the significance of it," Li said. "As the head coach, I think I should, since the Badminton World Federation has already made the decision, apologize to the Chinese fans and audience, because, in fact, we didn't fully demonstrate the fighting spirit of the Chinese badminton team."

Chinese Olympic leaders also criticized its players' actions.

"The behavior by Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli on court violated the Olympics ideal and the spirit of fair play," the delegation said in a statement released to the Xinhua news agency. "The Chinese delegation feels distressed over this matter."

But the delegations of all eight players are facing action.

"We're making sure that at this stage that they consider also the entourage, in this case the coaches, just to make sure it isn't just the athletes who are punished for this," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. "We will ask them if they are looking at it. ... We have to leave them to take their decision. We'll be following what they do and what they say."

If the IOC isn't satisfied, it could intervene to take its own disciplinary action.

"The NOCs are now making sure those athletes are leaving the village and are on their way home," Adams said. "The games are about good sporting experience and that's what we're encouraging. When that doesn't happen we need to take action.

"Is the line drawn under it? I hope in this case, yes. The clear message is: if this happens again then action will be taken."

Indonesia's badminton federation on Thursday called for future Olympics to scrap the group stage format which can allow results to be manipulated and return to a straight knockout tournament.

But such manipulation is nothing new to the Olympics.

At the London Games in 1948, Britain won the men's double sculls after Bert Bushnell and Dickie Burnell intentionally lost an earlier round.

"Dickie decided we should lose the first heat so as not to meet the Danes in the semifinal," The Guardian quoted Bushnell as saying in his 2010 obituary.

"I wouldn't have had the nerve to do that. We could have won, but we didn't, and came into the semis through the repechage, avoiding the Danes" until the final.

[imnho]

One person says your fired. The other person says,"You can't fire me I quit five minutes ago." Having been publicly caught cheating she was going to be the sacraficial lamb, so she quit ahead of the sacrafice.

[Overturn_legallized_theft]

If they want to lose, why do they even swing their arms?

[hamiltongrad]

I don't know why there is not a "redo" with circumstances like this, being obviously forced to underperform by the male coach.

[bobnjersey]

[I don't know why there is not a "redo" with circumstances like this, being obviously forced to underperform by the male coach.]
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maybe the woman players are the only one's doing it because they're the only one's who would actually follow these underhanded directions provided to them by the coaches.

it it were men players ... they wouldn't stoop so low to win by throwing the game like this ... ignoring the instructions of their superiors ... driven by their innate desire to win.

maybe this 'proves' that woman are the weaker sex ... and supports why they are not the dominant group in wages, title, advancement, etc.

maybe without your obvious hatred for men ... masked w/ your claims of 'aim to educate' ... you'd be able to see your own inferiority for what it actually is.

you know ... i'm just sayin ... maybe that's what underlies it all.

[erasmus111]

bobnjersey

Ok, I can't stand Hamiltongrad, but you're just as big of an idiot.


"it it were men players ... they wouldn't stoop so low to win by throwing the game like this ..."


What a joke. We all know that men are not above cheating. I can't count how many have been caught "doping".

And this "throwing" the game thing has been going on for years and they have been ignoring it. I'm quite sure that the women haven't been the only ones doing it.

[hamiltongrad]

I am referreing to "prime time" coverage being male dominated.

[hamiltongrad]

Why are only the women being kicked off the competition ? Shame on the male dominated Olympics ( 90% of the coverage has been male sports!)

[canislupus16]

"Why are only the women being kicked off the competition ?"

Are you serious? This was a WOMEN's event. And these WOMEN violated Olympic and sportamanship ideals (in other situations this is equivalent of point shaving). Taking you literally, how are you going to kick men off women's teams anyway?

Then again, your post taken in its entirety simply reflects (besides being uninformed) a sexist, misandry point of view

[US-Patriot]

Complain to your sexist friends at NOW.

[prm777]

Though the Chinese coach accepted blame, (s)he did not come out and acknowledge having instructed the players to throw the game. Nonetheless, I can hardly imagine the players doing so without their coach's blessing or instruction. By the same token, I can hardly imagine the coach instructing them to throw the match without the blessing of the Chinese Olympic delegation, though they will never admit it and the coach will likely fall on his/her sword, if need be, to prevent the penalties from going any further up the chain.

[BWB2020]

Strategy is just as much a part of sports as it is any other activity.

In chess, one can play "queen's gambit", and give up the most powerful piece, in order to gain a winning position.

In basketball, the bench plays while the stronger players rest, or the bench will finish a game after the team takes what should be an insurmountable lead.

In this case, teams were trying to gain advantage by giving up a game for advantageous positioning. The strategists planned according to the round-robin rules set forth.

If you change the format to "sudden death", i.e., lose and you're out, then such strategies would not be played.

When the organizers planned round-robin games, it was probably in order to increase the number of games played, thus increasing the number of tickets to be sold for the events.

So if the organizers can strategize maximizing ticket sales, then why can't the coaches strategize their playing positioning?

[KnowerseekerReturns]

You've got a good point.

[stupa5]

See ya!

[hamiltongrad]

this is like a Chess Match or a political campaign. YOu do what it takes to win. Sometimes, giving up a pawn, or not advertising in California is the BEST strategy. Get it. Shame on those evil men who run Olympics with an iron hand.

[bobnjersey]

[Shame on those evil men who run Olympics with an iron hand.]
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it's actually an evil 'she-devil' who runs the whole show ... using men simply as pawns ... for strategy of course ... and doing what's necessary for dominance and control.

isn't that your argument? anything to maintain power and win?

an ends justify the means mentality?

why is it ok what the women athletes did in the name of 'ends justify means' ... but it's not ok what the 'evil men' do who are running the olympics?

[rwsmith29456]

I don't think the chess match is a good analogy here. Someone may give a pawn to achieve a better position but they are still trying to win. There have, however, been instances of throwing whole games in team play for the same reason or agree to easy draws to guarantee the 1/2 point given for a draw. I think this is more similar to what the Chinese are doing in badminton.

[EmpireGeorge______--]

Do I see a communist concentration camp in her future ? or for the coach, who I'm sure suggested they ease-up and throw the match, to get a better placement.