Two South Korean pairs, a Chinese and an Indonesian team will be stripped of their place in the quarterfinals unless an appeal against the punishment is granted. All four teams were determined to have tried to lose their final matches in the women’s doubles group stage in order to secure a more favorable draw in the knockout round.
Where’s Herm Edwards when you need him?
How do you prove that they were trying to lose on purpose? So subjective.
The same way you prove someone is diving in soccer.
I love this story but I think the decision is flawed. All teams are trying to advance as far as possible. If the people who set up the draw system were too stupid to figure out that this might happen then blame them, not the teams.
Also, this sport is really intense at the pro level. Have you guys ever watched? It’s insane when they are trying all out.
I think the decision is fair. Any sports event has incentives to engage in unsportsmanlike behavior. It’s up to the organizers to punish participants who violate the spirit of competition.
It’s against the code of conduct. Losing may have been the best strategic move, but the rules state you have to play to your best ability every time. Thems the rules.
Is it weird they’re all Asian?
I can see both sides of the issue, kind of like playing for draft position in the NFL. Of course if the tournament were setup as a knockout tournament right from the beginning and one of the top teams in the world were to lose in the first round, they would be complaining that the format robbed the world of seeing the best teams play for a medal.
Almost everyone at the world class level is Asian, same thing in table tennis. I was watching a women’s TT match the other day, Luxemburg against US, and if you would have thought it was South Korea vs. China.
It’s pretty normal for Asian countries to dominate badminton competitions. Unsportsmanlike behavior is common in sports without Asian people also - for instance, soccer (“football”), where the players actually have training on how to fake injuries. I am looking at those Italians…
Thanks, I was wondering if this was the case since I couldn’t think of any American badminton players.
They said the games all occured immidately after with the first seed teams purposely losing by standing there and obviously drilling it into the net at point blank distance on serves.
Another reason why the Olympics are a big fat joke. So many judging errors this year and we are only 5 days in.
Lets not even mention how some of these events are the same freaking competition. Can someone tell me how for a ‘professional’ swimmer a 100m race is different than 200m?
I can understand doing a 100m and a 1000m race. But to have 5 swimming competitions (100/200/400/800/1500) in several different strokes is just ridiculous and a waste of time.
Same goes for the other sports. But I guess the only way to make the Olympics a financially sustainable event is to have as many competitions as possible to fill up 3 weeks of TV programming.
I dunno, I enjoy watching these games. Many people do. Just don’t tune in man, it’s easier than crying about it. I’m not really sure what all these judging errors are you’re referring to, but you seem pretty butt hurt so I’ll let it go. These athletes are doing everything they can to win and sometimes bending the rules in order to succede in the competition of their lives. I missed which part is a total joke?
Anyhow, since you’re apparently not very good at sports I’ll go ahead and explain the different distances to you. I used to run competitive track in the 100M and 200M distances. The difference between those two is pretty substantial. By the time you get to say a 400M distance it’s an entirely different race that requires a different strategy, preparation, mindset and individual. Since these races only take several minutes to complete, it makes sense to include them. Swimming same way.
I like watching athletic competitions, one good reason not to put them in if people are more than willing to tune in and watch?
Personally, I’d like to see the olympics open up two guest spots each games to a guest sport chosen by the committee based on international involvement, etc to give that sport exposure and just give us something new to watch.
I don’t think there is a damn thing wrong with trying to lose on purpose in one round to get a better position in another match. They are merely playing the long game over the whole games. Not merely one match.
Also, they aren’t doing it to make another team better off or for betting purposes or something. For instance, compare that to the sumo wrestling cheating that was made popular in Freakanomics. In that case, a sumo wrestler who had won enough matches would lose a match in the final round if the person they were fighting was on the bubble.
Well it’s unfair to the team that’s trying to qualify if their rivals are playing a team that’s trying to lose. It used to happen in World Cup soccer, but they changed the format.
^ JMH, to some extent, I hear your argument. It does make some sense. But as the rules state, you have to play to your best effort at all times, and I believe it violates the spirit of competition. If that rule is violated it undermines the competitive character of the games and can lead to gaming.
@Black Swan I understand the point about playing your best. But all it means is that next time this system is used, they will simply make an effort to look like they’re trying to win. They won’t make it as obvious next time, which will make simplykrazykam’s point above even more valid.
Yeah, I have a feeling the format will be adjusted for the next round. Possibly simultaneous matches.
The only reason ‘many’ people watch it are because its an international event yet you don’t find the same sort of excitement or rage over it like the world cup. hmmm I wonder why?
No one is crying or getting offended just stating the obvious. I can recall at least 3 incidents in 5 days where judging was questioned but I guess thats ‘normal’
Thanks for explaining the differences between 100m and 200m distances. Its ‘pretty substantial’. Yep it makes complete sense now.
Oh btw since you love watching these athletic competitions, mind naming all the 50 different gold medal winners in swimming so far? Go ahead google them…