THROWING THE GAME

4 Badminton Pairs Expelled from Olympics

For deliberately losing.

Eight Olympic players have been expelled from the Olympic games following an investigation by the Badminton World Federation into accusations that the players had been deliberately losing their matches. Two of those players are from China, prompting the Chinese Olympic sports delegation to launch an investigation. A spokesman for China's Olympic Committee said it was against any behavior going against "sporting spirit and morality," and the committee could take further action against the players based on the results of the investigation. The other players charged with "not using one's best efforts to win" were from South Korea and Indonesia. According to reports, both the Chinese and South Koreans appeared to deliberately play poorly in order to guarantee an easier draw in the finals. When the players were warned by a referee, one Chinese player insisted that they'd simply been trying to save their strength. "We've already qualified, so why would we waste energy?" said Yu Yang.