Disqualified Chinese badminton player quits after Olympics debacle

Yu Yang has retired from badminton after she was disqualified from the Olympics. Credit: REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad

Chinese badminton player Yu Yang has announced her retirement from the sport after she and her partner were disqualified from the Olympics for attempting to throw a match.

Yu and her team mate Wang Xiaoli were among eight women's doubles players who were expelled from the Games yesterday for "not using one's best efforts to win". Two South Korean teams and an Indonesian pair were also disqualified.

The disqualified players are:

  • China: Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli

  • South Korea: Jung Kyung Eun and Kim Ha Na

  • South Korea: Jung Eun and Kim Min Jung

  • Indonesia: Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii

Chinese officials told the pair to make a public apology for the debacle but Yu announced she was quitting the sport on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. She wrote:

Yu and Wang, who were the top-seeded pair, were kicked out of the Olympics by the BWF for throwing their match in order to secure a more favourable draw later in the tournament.

All the players were booed by an irate crowd as serves were deliberately hit into the net and shots hit wide and long on an embarrassing evening for the sport.

All four pairs had already qualified for the last eight meaning the only thing at stake were the final placings in the group stage.

The fiasco began when Wang and Yu started to show little interest in beating Koreans Jung Kyung Eun and Kim Ha Na to finish top of Group A.

Coming second would have meant avoiding compatriots and second seeds Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei - who earlier lost to a Danish pair - at least until the final.

The Koreans responded to China's antics by copying them, prompting referee Thorsten Berg to warn all the players. The match restarted and the Koreans went on to win 21-14, 21-11. The longest rally in the first game had been just four shots.

China's Wang Xiaoli (R) and Yu Yang during their match against South Korea. Credit: REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad

Li Yongbo, chief coach of the Chinese badminton team, said the poor behaviour of his players reflected the shortcomings of the new regulations in the sport.