Here's a step-by-step guide to undermining the legitimacy of Olympic competition.
The Disqualified Teams:
China's top-ranked Wang Xiaoli and Yang Yu (in yellow) faced off against South Korea's Ha Na Kim and Kyung Eun Jung (in purple) yesterday. Both teams tried desperately to lose the match.
Image by Michael Regan / Getty Images
Another South Korean team, Jung Eun Ha and Min Jung Kim (in blue) did battle with Indonesia's Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari (in red). But similarly they did all they could to lose. All four teams were given warnings during their matches, but play barely improved.
Image by Michael Regan / Getty Images
The Motivation:
China's Yunlei Zhao and Qing Tian had been upset by a pair from Denmark. In past years badminton medals were awarded via a simple elimination tournament, but for these Olympics a group stage was added. Since the top-ranked (and now disqualified) Wang Xiaoli and Yang Yu had already qualified for the knockout stage, they were attempting to lose so as to get a lower seed not be stuck facing their highly-skilled teammates, Yunlei and Qing, in the elimination stage. The other squads followed suit. Everyone tried to lose to ensure an easier draw in the next round.
Image by Michael Regan / Getty Images
The Evidence: Intentionally Crappy Play (China-South Korea)
Lazy return right into the net.
