How not to cheat: Olympians tank games, get tossed

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. The players are among several tossed for throwing their match. (AP image)

It’s not poppycock, it’s shuttlecock. The first big
scandal of the Olympics has broken out, as badminton
officials have taken the unprecedented step of throwing
out several top teams for intentionally losing their
matches.

The video really drives it home. “These are the best
players in their sport, in the world, and they are hitting
the shuttlecock right into the net, right into the
ground,” says Chris Sullivan, guest co-host on Seattle’s
Morning News about the obviously abysmal play by South
Korea, China and Indonesia.

The controversy was sparked by rule changes for the
London Games that prompted teams to play preliminary
rounds that determined seedings for the elimination round.

It seems everyone was trying to avoid playing against
the top teams, especially the Chinese. So the offenders
took the very un-Olympian step of doing all they could to
draw another opponent instead.

The tanking drew boos and shouts of outrage from fans
in the crowd at London’s Wembley Arena and some head
scratching from our own Olympic observers.

“Wouldn’t you think they’re so great, they could just
hit it a little long? They’re all about precision shots,”
observes Seattle’s Morning News’ Bill Radke.

“At least be clever about it,” agrees Linda
Thomas.

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By Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter