IOC asks for further inquiry into badminton match-throwing scandal

 LONDON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The investigation¹ into the match-throwing scandal in Olympic badminton competition is not over yet. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has asked for further inquiry² to know if coaches and team officials were involved.

After a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday morning, eight female badminton players from China, South Korea and Indonesia were disqualified by the Badminton World Federation³ (BWF) for trying to lose their group matches in a bid to secure favorable draw in the knock-out stage.

"We have asked to look into it to see if there are any issues to answer similarly for the coaches," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said on Thursday.

"It's important to make sure it's not just the athletes that are punished. The NOCs are making sure those athletes are now leaving the Village and making their way home," he added.

The eight disgraced players are world doubles champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China and South Korean pairs Jung Kyun-eun/Kim Ha-na and Ha Jung-eun/Kim Min-jung and Indonesia's Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii.

They were booed by the spectators Tuesday night at the Wembley Arena⁴ when they deliberately⁵ hit shots out of court and served into the net.

South Korea and Indonesia appealed the disqualification, but the BWF rejected the South Korean appeal and the Indonesia challenge was withdrawn⁶. China did not appeal.

Hours after the scandal erupted, Li Yongbo, head coach of the Chinese badminton team, apologized in public.

"As the head coach, I owe the fans and the Chinese an apology," Li said. "Chinese players failed to demonstrate their fighting spirit. It's me to blame."

But some blamed the group format⁷ for the controversy⁸.

"The Badminton World Federation should never have allowed the round-robin format to replace the knockout tournament that has been used at previous Olympics. There was always going to be a risk of match-throwing with the new format," said Gail Emms, a former badminton player who won a silver medal for Britain in 2004 Olytmpics.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

5 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

6 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

7 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。