1 Dec 2012

Badminton changes rules for doubles matches

1:11 pm on 1 December 2012

The Badminton World Federation has announced changes to Olympic doubles rules following a match-throwing scandal at the London Games, but says it'll take no further action against coaches.

The BWF said that in the future, following the group stage, all pairs finishing second in their groups would be placed into a second draw to determine who they face in the knockout phase.

But pairs topping their group stage would have fixed positions equivalent to seeded placings in the knockout stage.

Eight women's doubles players from South Korea, Indonesia and China were disqualified for trying to lose matches at the London Olympics.

The scandal prompted Chinese badminton star Yu Yang to say she was quitting the sport, although she resumed playing at the Super Series Premier event in Shanghai earlier this month.

The Korea Badminton Association initially banned two coaches for life but after an appeal reduced the suspension to two years.