Number 78, Damned if they do, damned if they don't!

Damned if they do, damned if they don’t!  

I feel quite sorry for the pairs,
Of Badminton Olympic players,
Who were evicted from the game,
And publicly were put to shame.

Tactically they had to lose;
They were forced to so abuse,
In a way that we thought bent,
The spirit of the tournament.

No fault of theirs; they all knew well,
What winning disadvantage spelled;
It was built in some months before,
And compromised them in the draw.

All they did was realise,
The strategy to maximise
Their chance to win a medal was
To lose, and this is all because...

The game had been arranged that way,
And we’d already heard some say,
That this was bound to happen, and
Teams would certainly be banned.

To me this seems to be unfair,
Dammed if they won or lost they were,
So given rules they had to break;
Give them credit, for heaven’s sake.

Every other discipline
Knows the constraints they are in;
Knows the subtle ways to score,
Advantage or a little more.

Tactics always play a part,
And coaches have to know their art;
To get an inch and take a mile,
And do their business all the while.

And if we have to sit and see
A strange exhibit let it be.
It all adds up to just the same;
A route to triumph in the game.

And so I think these players were,
Within their rights so to defer
To regulations which they knew
They all were subjugated to.

No-one should ever have to be
Made to play impossibly,
Which is what these players had
To do, and I say this was bad.

The shame and disgrace should be laid,
At those who organised, and made
The way the matches would turn out;
Which is what this is all about. 

© Stephen Saunders

On the disqualification of Badminton players for deliberately losing games in the Olympics, London 2012, in order to ensure the best opponents for a chance at a medal in the next round.  The fault was in the organisation of the games, forcing the teams to take on these strange tactics to maximise their chances in the overall competition. 

Please read number 54 again now.

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