London 2012, eight Asian Badminton players under investigation for "lack of commitment"
London (AsiaNews) - On the fifth day of competitions, the 2012 London Olympics has registered its first sporting scandal and the protagonists are female athletes of Asian origin. The Badminton World Federation is in fact investigating eight players in doubles for "not using one's best efforts to win a match." The four pairs under investigation for their meager efforts are from South Korea (two pairs), from China and Indonesia and all risk heavy disciplinary measures. Meanwhile, yesterday during the Games U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps was crowned the most successful Olympian in history - 19 medals in total, including 15 golds, one silver and three bronze - and the Olympic double for 16 year old Ye Shiwen of China in the 200m medley, the true revelation of this Games.
An official note of the Badminton World Federation
confirms that the four pairs are under investigation and could face sanctions
" not using one's best efforts to win a match." The players "
behaved in a manner that is clearly harmful or offensive" to "the
sport". The judges are focusing on the attitude on court of Chinese Yu
Yang and Wang Xiaoli and South Korean Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na for the
first match; in the second the duo Ha Jung-Eun and Kim Min-Jung (South Korea),
together with the Indonesian Juahari Meiliana and Greysia Polii are being investigated.
In yesterday's matches the athletes are charged with trying to lose with
intentional errors - shots into the net, blunders, lack of commitment - in
order to progress to the next round against opponents of a lesser caliber. Even
the spectators during matches repeatedly booed the players, while the
competition judge on several occasions pointed out a conduct contrary to
sportsmanship and respect for the paying public.
Someone who instead spared nothing in his efforts to achieve a record number of wins was U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, who thanks to the two medals won yesterday, becomes the most successful athlete in the history of the Olympic Games: 19 medals won in four different Games, against 18 won by Russian gymnast Larissa Latynina Semyonova between 1956 and 1964. Yesterday the Baltimore shark came second in the 200 Dolphin, his race, which he trumped in three editions of the Games (thus winning his first Silver), and the gold medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay, thanks to a masterful performance by his team, which lead right from the first: a thrilling last 25 meters, with the entire poolside arena cheering on the greatest swimmer (and perhaps the best athlete) in Olympic history.
Also yesterday, the Chinese swimmer, Ye Shiwen (pictured), a rising swim-star, clocked
a double after the 400 medley by also winning the 200m, this time however
without annihilating her opponents with performance on par or even higher than male
athletes. Her triumph in the 400 had given rise to doubts and suspicions, which
led to a not-so-veiled doping charge by a member of the U.S.
federation. Some even went as far as to intimate "genetic
manipulation", but the victory of yesterday won thanks to progress in the
last 50 meters freestyle returned a "human" dimension to the sixteen
year-old's success, who concluded by saying: "I did not expect others be
so strong, but I could not afford to lose the race. "
Moreover, China's
internet users have vented their anger on the net, defending their young
darling and rebuffing any allegations of fraud or manipulation. Some, in posts
published on Sina.com described the accusations as "shameful", and is
indicative of a "petty" mentality. Others speak of West's "desperation"
it being "scared" by the "rise" of China.
Finally, another
first that needs to be highlighted was a medal for Egypt, conquered by the fencer
Alaaeldin Abouelkassem who finished second in the individual competition,
taking home a well deserved silver.
Meanwhile China
continues to dominate the medals table, with 13 golds in four days of competition,
six silvers and four bronzes for a total of 23 medals. Even the United States,
ranking second overall, has only won 23 medals overall, distributed as follows:
nine golds, eight silvers and six bronzes. In third place is France, followed by South
Korea - three golds, two silvers, three bronzes - and a surprising
North Korea,
capable of producing three gold-medal athletes, and also winning a bronze for a
total of four medals.
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