Officials warning the badminton players

Eight badminton players have been disqualified from the women's doubles competition after being accused of "not using one's best efforts to win".

Two pairs from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia made a series of basic errors in Tuesday's matches.

All four pairs were accused of wanting to lose, in an attempt to manipulate the draw for the knockout stage.

A South Korean appeal was rejected by the Badminton World Federation while Indonesia withdrew an appeal.
As well as the "not using best efforts" charge, the players were also accused of "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport".

Their places in the last eight will be taken by the pairs, who finished third and fourth in the qualifying groups concerned, reports the BBC.

BWF Secretary General, Thomas Lund said: "The decision was to reject the case."

Some players had blamed the introduction of a round-robin stage rather than a straight knockout tournament as the catalyst. In the round-robin format, losing one game can ultimately lead to an easier match-up in the next round.

However one Chinese player said their actions were due to them trying to preserve energy ahead of the knockout stages.

In the first women's doubles match at Wembley Arena on Tuesday night, fans jeered China's Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli and South Koreans Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na.
The longest rally in the first game lasted only four shots, with match referee Thorsten Berg appearing on court at one point to warn the players.

South Korea won the Group A match, which lasted 23 minutes, 21-14 21-11.

Both pairs knew the winners would face China's Tian Quing and Zhao Yunlei.

With Yu and Wang losing, the two Chinese pairings could have only met in the final.

Speaking before the disqualification verdict was released, South Korea's coach Sung Han-kook, said: "The Chinese started this. They did it first. It's a complicated thing with the draws. They didn't want to meet each other in the semi-final, they don't want that to happen.

"They (BWF) should do something about that."

But Yu said the Chinese were aiming to preserve energy ahead of the knockout stages.