LONDON (AP) — Changes to the Olympic badminton format will be studied by the sport’s governing body to try to avoid a repeat of the match-throwing scandal that blighted the London Games.
Badminton World Federation general secretary Thomas Lund said Sunday a tournament review will be presented at his group’s meeting in November. There will be an evaluation of the debut of group play in London.
Four women’s doubles pairs — the gold medal favorites from China, plus two from South Korea and one from Indonesia — took advantage of the new format. They tried to lose their last group matches to give themselves better quarterfinal matchups. They were disqualified and sent home.
Lund says there is no guarantee the format will be changed because it has “brought action to many, many more viewers and prolonged the Olympic experience for many, many more players.”
