Japanese duo upset defending champs in badminton

Tuesday 12th August, 07:00 AM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

Latest 15 of 22 Total Comments Show All

northlondon at 11:48 AM JST - 12th August

To beat the Olympic champions who were playing at home with a very partisan flag-waving crowd roaring behind them, was real achievement.
dr_jones at 12:50 PM JST - 12th August

It's interesting to watch how the Chinese crowd reacts depending on who is playing. If there are any other countries players at stage, they are quiet, if Chinese players are at stage they cheer for them, if there are Japanese players at stage, they are yelling "Kill them! Kill them!" in Chinese!
fletcher at 12:57 PM JST - 12th August

I saw this on TV. When they won, they fell to the ground and supplicated themselves. Is this normal in Japanese culture? Or were they just exhausted?

I think they simply collapsed in joy. Tennis players the world over often do this after winning big matches.
northlondon at 01:31 PM JST - 12th August

they are yelling "Kill them! Kill them!" in Chinese!

Is this true ?
hedgehog88 at 01:39 PM JST - 12th August

Great game I enjoyed much more than ever last night.
frontandcentre at 01:50 PM JST - 12th August

When Ogura and Shiota were playing (and got defeated), the crowd didn't know how to behave. They were shouting and yelling throughout the points, which may well have distracted both pairs, not just the Japanese. Some parts (not all) of the Chinese crowd should learn how to behave. Shouting and screaming between points is fine, but for goodness' sake - let the players concentrate when in play!

The Japanese were very graceful, but the Chinese pair they were playing both looked like boys, though. Ugh
MPNiea at 01:56 PM JST - 12th August

Anyone else think some of the Chinese Olympians look seriously juiced? Not that Russia and the U.S. haven't had countless problems, but many of the Chinese players seem to be a little too buffed for their area of expertise.
dr_jones at 02:08 PM JST - 12th August

"Is this true ?"

I'd say it's only the tip of the iceberg of bad behavior. Chinese media would of course never show this but some foreign visitors and journalists also understand Chinese.

"Anyone else think some of the Chinese Olympians look seriously juiced?"

You bet they do! They also always act like emotionless robots compared to players from any other countries who are at least smiling even if they only won bronze.
sdmsec at 02:35 PM JST - 12th August

“the great sportsmanlike conduct of the Chinese spectators at all events”

“[Chinese] always act like emotionless robots compared to players from any other countries”

Ahhh, stereotypes and over-generalizations are fun.

This reminds me of the time I heard someone say, “Black people are cool.” You have to wonder if that statement is actually or compliment or an insult. At the very least it’s over-generalized and ignorant.
Sarge at 02:37 PM JST - 12th August

The Ogu-Shio duo lost badly to two Chinese women who look more like men than women in my opinion.
dr_jones at 03:13 PM JST - 12th August

"The Ogu-Shio duo lost badly to two Chinese women who look more like men than women in my opinion."

That's because they ARE men (or were men before)! ;)
Smythe at 04:13 PM JST - 12th August

Well that is what the sport is about is it not? There are winners & there are loosers. So the Gold Cup winners of before were beat by a Japanse team. That seems normal to me.
Pukey2 at 09:51 PM JST - 12th August

dr jones:

It's interesting to watch how the Chinese crowd reacts depending on who is playing. If there are any other countries players at stage, they are quiet, if Chinese players are at stage they cheer for them, if there are Japanese players at stage, they are yelling "Kill them! Kill them!" in Chinese!

Well then, fountain of knowledge, how exactly do you say 'kill them' in Chinese? In Chinese characters and pinyin, please. Or are you just making all this up? Or have you ever been to China? Christ, the amount of hate and bitterness from the likes of you is truly amazing. You can criticize them if they're nasty or if their game was below par, but making personal attacks is a bit immature, don't you think?

Chinese fans cheering for Chinese athletes? Well, that's a new one! I don't suppose Jp fans cheer for Jp athletes. Hmm, I wonder. Sure, the Chinese mob just wanted to kill Fukuhara Ai at the airport, right?

Sarge:

The Ogu-Shio duo lost badly to two Chinese women who look more like men than women in my opinion.

I do agree that the Jp gals looked more feminine, but make-up, hair gel and eyebrow maintenance won't win you gold medals. Just ask the Jp men on the football team or the gymnastics team. ;p
frontandcentre at 10:15 AM JST - 13th August

Pukey2 - part of the comments about them looking like boys was a read-between-the-lines implication that they have been carrying on the long tradition of Chinese doping (remember all the running records fuelled by "special mushrooms"? ). Communist countries seem to be defined by it when it comes to Olympic competition - as well as those with the greatest financial incentives (which is why so many of the top American sprinters of the past 10 years are now disgraced)

Anyway, who knows - the Chinese deserved to win based on skill. Just the Japanese were much more lovely to watch, and the crowd were too boisterous.
rajakumar at 05:47 PM JST - 13th August

Way to go team badminton japan, upset more champs.