A Chinese athlete thrown out of the Olympics for match fixing quit the sport for good today with the words: “Goodbye my beloved badminton”.
Olympic doubles champion Yu Yang announced her retirement after she was disqualified from the Games with seven other players for trying to lose matches.
The players provoked outrage after deliberately hitting shots into the net and out of the court during a group match in a bid to avoid a stronger team in the next round.
Their opponents from South Korea then followed suit and a second match between Indonesia and another South Korean pair was also intentionally lost. The crowd booed the players at the matches on Tuesday and many demanded refunds.
Chinese officials ordered Yu, 26, and her partner Wang Xiaoli to apologise.
Several athletes from Team GB and badminton legend Gail Emms had called for the players to be banned.
But Britain’s triple-jump Olympic champion Jonathan Edwards tweeted: “Very poor form from badminton players but can’t help feeling disqualification an overreaction— top seeds out. Olympic title devalued.”
A spokesman for the Chinese Olympic body said: “The [Chinese] delegation has severely criticised and educated the responsible badminton leaders, team and relevant players.”
Li Yongbo, chief coach of the badminton team, said: “I must say sorry to fans and viewers nationwide.”
