Badminton scandal: Disqualified Chinese player Yu Yang quits sport

By Nasir Qureshi Aug 2nd, 2012 ( 1 Comment )

London: Chinese badminton player Yu Yang, who disqualified from the Olympics for throwing a match ‘deliberately’, has announced she is quitting the sport, saying her dreams had been “heartlessly shattered”.

“This is my last time competing. Goodbye Badminton World Federation, goodbye my beloved badminton,” Yu Yang announced on her Weibo, or microblog, late Wednesday.

The expulsion of four women’s doubles pairs sent shockwaves through the tournament, removing China’s top-seeded duo and other doubles pairs from the South Korean and Indonesian teams.

“I’m very, very sorry this has happened for both the players and for the sport,” Badminton World Federation secretary general Thomas Lund told a media conference.

“We made this decision for the best interests of all the players. The most important thing is to deal with such cases in a firm and fair manner.”

The head coach of China’s badminton team Li Yongbo told Chinese media he was responsible for his world championship duo Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli’s failure to compete for victory.

“As head coach, I owe the supporters of Chinese badminton and the Chinese TV audiences an apology,” he was quoted as saying. “Chinese players failed to demonstrate the fine tradition and fighting spirit of the national team.

“It’s me to blame.”