China's Li Xuerui in Olympic badminton qtr finals

A day after Wembley Arena was in an uproar over Olympic badminton doubles matches being deliberately thrown, there was no whiff of manipulation as the knockout rounds began.

The nearly full arena was still buzzing after a farcical display on Tuesday night when China's world champion women's duo and pairs from South Korea and Indonesia purposely lost points in their final group matches to earn a favorable draw in the last 16.

All four pairs faced a Badminton World Federation hearing early Wednesday, charged with not trying their best and embarrassing the sport.

Meanwhile, the hottest player on the tour, Li Xuerui of China, was first into the quarterfinals. The third seed was given a tough workout in edging Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan 21-16, 23-21 in 46 minutes.


 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.