[h=1]Chinese player quits badminton after scandal; IOC pressures sport for format change[/h] http://www.stltoday.com/sports/olym...cle_6d333bee-ac5c-577f-b6bc-b01d31a8a827.html <snip> IOC chief Jacques Rogge held talks with badminton world federation secretary general Thomas Lund and made it clear that change in the tournament would be expected ahead of the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. "The overall principle is that the Games are about a good sporting performance," said IOC communications director Mark Adams. "When that doesn’t happen we need to take action." The eight athletes have been sent home from the Olympics in disgrace while the actions of their coaches are now under investigation. It is unlikely that any announcement regarding the new format will be made before the end of these Games as badminton tries to draw a line under the embarrassing incident. However, Rogge and Lund have a tacit agreement in place that the system will be overhauled in a satisfactory manner in the future. [Related: Badminton scandal bad for sport, comedy for everyone else]"They spoke and the outcome was actually very positive," an IOC source told Yahoo! Sports. "But that was primarily because the badminton people were not just open to change, but proactive about it." Lund is reluctant to abandon the group formula entirely, even though it was responsible for the farcical scenes that saw two South Korean pairs, one Chinese and one Indonesian team deliberately try to lose matches in order to secure a more favorable quarterfinal draw. "I think that the group system has been a great success but, obviously, given what has happened, it is something that needs to be looked at," Lund said. The events of this week have made it clear that the present system is unworkable. Two options are being discussed and either of them appear to offer a solution that would eradicate the possibility of match-fixing. One is that group play is retained, but that only the pool winner progresses to the knockout stage instead of the top two finishers. Another is that a single-elimination tournament is implemented similar to other sports like table tennis, tennis and boxing. [Photos: Olympic badminton]The concept of groups with just one qualifier may win out, as the governing body wants to avoid a situation where weaker players from some less-established badminton nations travel to the Olympics and get to play only one match. Appeals from the eight players by their federations were summarily rejected and replacement teams that originally lost in the groups were brought in instead. Badminton has been an Olympic sport since the 1992 Barcelona Games. Despite this week’s controversy, its place in the Games is not considered to be under any threat. Related Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
Great to see the BWF is quick to salvage itself. Hope there is something worthwhile coming out this mess.
Is this a fair treatment from IOC against BWF??? We know the grouping system needs improvement to avoid similar incident from happening again however singling out badminton is an unfair treatment. Hey Mr. Rogge how about pressuring other sports to change their formats as well especially basketball, soccer, etc as many times in the past I felt really disappointed that my favorite players were left sitting on the bench when their teams had secured the ticket to advance to the next stage. Would IOC consider that "game fixing" as well or so called "throwing a match".
That's something entirely different. A soccer team consists of more than just the 11 ACTIVE players. Putting players on the bench has been done since the birth of the sport. In doubles there are 2 players, that's it.
Sorry here but completely disagreed. Conceptually two behaviors are the same. The objectives are the same - conservation of energy and formulating a strategy to the team 's advantage. This is not a question about morality, this is about competitive sports! Its all about game plan!
i doubt anything's gonna change. i think someone else mentioned on another thread that most likely BWF will try to "behave" during OG, then all other badminton tournaments they'll just do as they please.
I seriously think the system is at fault here and that Thomas Lund shall take some if not most of the blame here. I'm not familiar with the organisation within BWF but due to this incident, someone from the organisation should also take the heat. Maybe they should re-elect someone who would listen to rational opinions/ideas and improve the overall image of badminton. How could anyone of his position and experience not anticipate something of this sort would arise under such a system? I honestly think he owes the players and fans some kind of apology and his stepping down would be a good show of his integrity.
Totally agree with these two points brought up here. The group system has some positives, but clearly needs to be tweaked, including in the singles event (a two-player group? seriously...)