Team Canada Benefits from Olympic Badminton Scandal
Team Canada's Women's Badminton team could have a shot of taking home the country's first-ever medal in the sport, following a scandal which is currently rocking the London Games.
Yesterday, eight Asian athletes were sent home in disgrace after being found guilty of throwing matches in their competitions.
As such, Canada's duo, Alex Bruce and Michele Li were back in the draw after being completely out of the competition only three hours earlier.
The pair took advantage of their return to the Games to beat the Australian team in the quarter finals and advanced to the semi finals of the Olympics.
On Friday they will compete in the semi finals and are hoping to win a medal for Canada.
Odds at Ladbrokes on the match between Alex Bruce and Michele Li vs Japan's Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa are 1/100 on the Japanese pair winning and 14/1 on a Team Canada victory.
Badminton Olympic Scandal
News of the scandal broke when it was announced that four pairs of doubles, including the Chinese top seeds, were thrown from the Olympic tournament for trying to throw matches, in a bid to secure a better quarter final draw.
The Badminton World Federation told the media that the players had been disqualified for breaching several codes of conduct, including not using their best efforts to win a match and conducting themselves in a way that is detrimental to the sport.
The players - a pair from China, two from South Korea and one from Indonesia - were charged with blatantly trying to throw their games.
The players were jeered by the crowds for their obvious manipulation of the games, and were even warned several times by officials during their matches.
Both South Korea and Indonesia appealed the decision, with Indonesia withdrawing the appeal and South Korea having its appeal rejected.
The decision to disqualify the eight athletes allowed four previously eliminated teams - Russia, Canada, Australia and South Africa - to compete in the quarter finals and, as stated, Canada beat Australia to advance to the semis.
Team Canada Not Thrilled with Circumstances
But the excitement of possibly winning Canada's first medal in badminton was tinged with sadness of the circumstances which brought Team Canada to the quarter - and subsequently, semi - final stage of the London Games.
"We're not excited that it happened," said Bruce. "It sucks."
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