Koreans admit to throwing Thomas Cup match

South Korea plunge the elite tournament into controversy after admitting it threw its match against England.

South Korea admitted it threw its Thomas Cup match against England on Monday, plunging the elite tournament into controversy and overshadowing China’s continued march towards the title.

The Koreans, who have emerged as a powerful force in men’s badminton, lost 4-1 after fielding a weakened team, with Asian champion Park Sung-Hwan and Korean Open winner Lee Hyun-Il playing doubles together instead of singles.

Team manager Kim Jong-Soo said their tactics were to avoid winning their group to ensure a more favourable quarter-final draw.

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“We formulated a strategy before we arrived where we want to meet Denmark in the quarter-finals, and that means not finishing top of the group,” he said.

“The Badminton World Federation (BWF) created these rules, but I’d much prefer having the two top automatically qualify for the quarter-finals.”

The Thomas and Uber Cup tournaments are structured so that the top finisher in each three-team group receive a bye to the quarter-finals, while the other two play an elimination game to make the last eight.

If Korea finish top of their group they face the prospect of meeting defending champions China in the semi-finals. Finishing second or third and playing the elimination game ensures an easier route to the final.

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The Netherlands head coach Martijn van Dooremalen said the system was to blame.

“I don’t think it is in the spirit of the game but the way the system is, you can use tactics to come second or third and avoid the bigger name teams. It’s a shame the championships have to be played like this,” he said.

Indonesian team manager Christian Hadinata said he didn’t blame South Korea.

“The BWF must the review the system. As it is, it allows teams to adopt this sort of strategy. I don’t blame South Korea.”

The BWF were expected to issue a statement later.

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The controversy overshadowed China racing to a 5-0 win over Canada to follow up their whitewash of Nigeria on the opening day. The two victories ensure they receive a bye to the quarter-finals.

World number one Lin Dan was again in fine touch as he cantered past Andrew Dabeka 21-11, 21-15, while Bao Chunlai eased to a 21-14, 21-8 victory over Bobby Milroy.

Olympic and Asiad champion Taufik Hidayat bounced back from his shock opening day defeat to beat Dieter Domke 21-10, 21-16 as Indonesia hammered Germany 5-0 to book their place in the last eight.

“Losing is normal in a tournament like this. I was not lucky yesterday,” said an unflustered Hidayat, the 2005 world champion. “Today I was much better.”

In other action, Japan pummeled New Zealand.

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China’ women were also firing in the parallel Uber Cup. World umber one Xe Xingfang, ZhuLin, and Jiag Yanjiao all easily won their singles matches to help the defending champions reach the knockout round.

Hong Kong got their Uber campaign underway with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over South Africa with Asian Games silver medalist Yip Pui Yin leading the way, beating Kerry-Lee Harrington in the opening singles 21-6, 21-7.

In other action, the Netherlands beat Japan 3-2.