Suspended Olympic badminton players appeal penalties

The four South Korean badminton players suspended for their role in match-throwing schemes at the London Olympics have appealed their penalties, officials said Tuesday.

The Badminton Korea Association said the players -- Jung Kyung-eun, Kim Ha-na, Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung -- contested the earlier ruling by the local governing body.

"We will make the final decision Wednesday at our board meeting," an official with the association said. "We will listen to what the players themselves have to say and also thoroughly review opinions from others."

Jung and Kim Ha-na formed one women's doubles team, and Ha and Kim Min-jung were the other doubles pair at the London Games. The association's disciplinary committee recommended a two-year suspension for the four on Aug. 14, about 24 hours after the end of the London Olympics.

These four, along with a Chinese pair and an Indonesian team, were disqualified from the Olympics after deliberately hitting serves into the net and making other unforced errors, in an apparent attempt to purposely lose group stage matches and manipulate knockout stage draws.

Along with the players, national team head coach Sung Han-kook and assistant coach Kim Moon-soo received lifetime bans from coaching. The association said Kim has appealed, while Sung accepted his penalty and asked for leniency for the players.

South Korea earned one bronze medal in badminton in London for its worst Olympic showing ever. (Yonhap News)