Eight Olympic badminton players disqualified

(CNN) — Eight Olympic women’s badminton players have been disqualified after being accused of “not using one’s best efforts to win a match” in doubles contests that drew boos from spectators.

The Badminton World Federation made the announcement Wednesday.

The players — four from South Korea, two from China and two from Indonesia — were also charged with “conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport” during matches on Tuesday, the federation said in a statement.

The charges result from two lackluster contests in London that angered the watching crowds as the doubles pairs appeared to be trying to lose the matches in order to ensure a more favorable draw later in the competition.

British sports fans going into the Olympic Park on Wednesday called it “shocking” after seeing parts of the matches on television.

“It’s not in the spirit of the thing,” said Kevin Button, from Ashford in Kent, just outside of London.

“And it’s so disappointing for the people who came to see it,” his wife Tina said. “It leaves a bit of a sour taste.”

The eight players disqualified had all already qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament before the final matches of the group stage on Tuesday night.

But the results of the last group matches mean the Chinese pair, Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang — ranked No. 1 in the world — avoid potentially facing another top Chinese duo until the final on Saturday.

The Chinese Olympic delegation is also investigating the Chinese players’ conduct, it said in a statement Wednesday.

“Upon learning the incident, the delegation leadership has ordered an investigation into what and why it happened,” the statement said.

“The Chinese Olympic Committee has always advocated athletes carrying forward the Olympic spirit during competitions. We promote the spirit of fair and equitable competitions, and oppose any violations of such sports spirit and ethics for any reason or in any form,” the delegation said.

In the first of the Tuesday matches under scrutiny, China’s Wang and Yu played South Korea’s Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na in a game in which “neither side seemed to be exerting themselves,” the official Olympic news service said.

After several serves by both pairs went into the net, the tournament referee Torsten Berg was called to the court, the news service reported, “where he warned all four players amid a chorus of boos from the crowd.”

The South Koreans eventually won the “repeatedly interrupted match,” securing first place in their group, according to the news service. But that puts them in the same side of the draw as Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei, a Chinese duo who are ranked No. 2 in the world.

The second match in question took place about an hour later, pitting South Korea’s Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung against the Indonesians Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii.

Play in that contest was “sluggish early on,” the Olympic news service reported, and Berg was called onto the court at least twice “with the crowd calling for the players to be sent off.”

The South Koreans finally won the contest and will face the top-ranked Chinese pair Wang and Yu in the quarterfinals. The Indonesian duo will meet South Korea’s Jung and Kim Ha-na, who are ranked eighth in the world.