Perhaps it's because badminton is that game you play at garden parties after a few too many cocktails. It's what you did to pass the time as a child at some summer camp or other.
It is, in short, a dull game and does anyone watch it?
The ladies are accused of slacking off in particular matches, of "not using one's best effort" to win. In essence, they took a dive, but not for cash payments.
No, the women did their best to lose so that they could be put into a bracket that offered easier competition. They found a way to get to the medals podium without having to work quite so hard. Indeed, many in the audience who watched the thrown matches had no doubt that the women were doing it on purpose, playing poorly and blowing easy shots.
They say that much of victory in sport is mental, and it takes some mental acuity to look at a tournament bracket and figure out who you have the best chance of beating. From there, it's a matter of manipulating the pairings as best you can, to get those advantageous matches.
But it's meant to be above board and fair, and the Olympics committee trusts the athletes to focus on winning where they are placed, rather than manipulating the playing field and making a mockery of the bracket system.
The Chinese, their reputation for cheating intact, have criticized their athletes, but it's only words. No one has been sent home in disgrace.The South Koreans say they were getting back at the Chinese, playing the cheating game to prevent China from rigging the pairings so that their number one and number two teams would be paired in the gold medal match.
Will the gold be tainted by the cheating scandal? Will China be disqualified?
Does anyone care?
The Olympics Committee certainly should. It's their reputation that's at stake. And once they lose that, they risk losing the public's appreciation of games that are supposed to be nothing but pure athletic prowess, without the cynical manipulation.
No comments:
Post a Comment