Barbados Today

Disgraced Chinese Yu Yang has decided to quit badminton while national officials have told their Olympic team leaders and disgraced players to make a public apology for throwing matches at the London Games.

Yu was among eight women’s doubles players expelled from the Games yesterday. The others were team mate Wang Xiaoli, South Korean pairs Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na, and Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung, plus Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari of Indonesia.

“This is my last competition. Goodbye Badminton World Federation (BWF), goodbye my beloved badminton,” Yu wrote on her Tencent microblog.

“We…only chose to use the rules to abandon the match. “This was only so as to be able to compete better in the second round of the knockout (stage). This is the first time the Olympics has changed the (event’s format). Don’t they understand the harm this has caused the athletes?

“You have heartlessly shattered our dreams,” said Yu. “It’s that simple, not complicated at all. But this is unforgiveable.”

Yu and Wang were the top-seeded pair.The eight players were turfed out of the Olympics by the BWF for throwing matches in a bid to secure more favourable draws later in the tournament.

The sight of four pairs deliberately easing off disgusted a crowd of 4,800 packed into Wembley Arena expecting to see the best of badminton’s best.Instead the fans were treated with disdain as the Chinese, Korean and Indonesian players sprayed hopeless shots into the net and beyond the lines. Their antics were also beamed around the globe to a disbelieving audience.

Today the World Badminton Federation said it would review video of all round-robin matches at the London Olympics, following the players’ expulsion from the tournament.

“Now we’ve obtained all the tapes. Right now we don’t have so much time, but after the tournament is finished we will look to review everything, the whole situation,” BWF deputy president Paisan Rangsikitpho said.

Rangsikitpho, the tournament’s technical delegate, said the result of the review would not change the tournament’s results but would help the BWF decide whether to persist with the controversial group format in the first round.Players and coaches have criticised the preliminary group round for being ripe for manipulation.

“I think the majority of the matches have been well received but I think something will be changed to ensure more fairness,” he said.